Mix Up
by TheLithiumProject
Summary: During their latest stop, Zoro gets himself on trouble with the local government. His seemingly minor infraction is punishable by death. That is, until a strange looking woman runs up, declaring him to be her newlywed husband When she hugs him, she hisses in his ear to play along. But things turn complicated when Luffy shows up and hear the "happy news".
1. Chapter 1

_Hello gentle readers, and welcome to my ZoroxOC fanfiction. I hope you like this wacky beginning to a wackier story._

The swordsman weaved through the bustling marketplace, arm resting casually on the topmost hilt of the three katana at his side. He seemed to pay no mind to the people who stared at him, yet he noticed them all. He could not blame them, as he was sure his scowl was particularly deep set at the moment. Every other member of the Mugiwara crew had wandered off on him, leaving him to wander about the small port town. While he vastly preferred to be near his nakama, the relative quiet peace was pleasant enough. He was in no particular hurry to find them. At least for a few more minutes, since a light drizzle had started to fall.

While he was nowhere near Nami's calibre when it came to weather prediction, he had been on the sea long enough to know when a light drizzle was just the beginning of what the weather had to offer. He spotted an empty stone bench under an ancient shade tree. He made himself comfortable on it just in time for the rain to pick up speed, leaning against the tree, arms folded behind his head. He glanced around one more time before closing his eye, intent on napping while he waited for the rain to pass.

The island was small and self-sustaining, so the marine activity was next to non-existent. The only person within fifty feet of him was a small figure with their hood pulled tightly around their face, on a neighboring wooden bench. They seemed about as threatening as the tree behind him, eating their sandwich and reading a thick stack of papers under the canopy of a tree nearly as large as the one he was using as a backrest.

Add that he was Roronoa Zoro, rightly called Demon of the East Blue, and he had little to worry about sleeping here.

Sleep was almost upon him when he heard purposeful footsteps on the cobblestone square and someone roughly kicked his boot. He grunted in annoyance, wondering if the owner of the boot that kicked his had a death wish today.

"Roronoa Zoro?" The voice attached to the question was gruff and was either older or gave hint to possible chain smoking.

He opened his eye, glaring at the fairly large group of armed men. _Nothing I can't handle and hardly satisfying._

"Yeah, and what of it?" He did not even bother to sit up fully, just continued glaring at them with a half-hearted snarl.

A rough middle-aged man holding a copy of his wanted poster proved to be the owner of the voice that woke him, but anymore thought on that subject was gone with the man's words.

"You're under arrest for desecration of Hero's Monument. Your penalty is death."

* * *

Lithium had been watching him wander back and forth on the market street for about an hour. She had first noticed him when she walked out of the local bar, the passable local brew entirely forgotten when she laid eyes on the swordsman.

She was not sure if it was the attention-grabbing compliments of green and red he was wearing, the fact that his hair itself was green or that she could spot well-defined muscles sliding beneath his loose clothing that drew her attention. She simply knew she had to draw him and hoped she did not have to be a bit of a stalker to do so.

 _Not like I don't do that anyway for every anatomy study I do..._

She sighed, pulling the deep hood of her sweatshirt over her head so she could shift out of her disguise. She had been wearing a generic human shape for a couple hours so she was already beginning to feel the prickling crawly sensation of needing to wear her own face again. While this was a quiet place, being stuck in shift was not something she wanted to do either way.

She shifted back to normal slowly as she walked across the street to a nearby park bench. The slower she shifted, the less obvious it was to anyone who happened to glance into her hood. She readjusted her clothing to avoid flashing any gray and white skin to people who did not need to know about it. Namely, everyone.

The shapeshifter settled in to eat the other half of her sandwich and alternate between watching the swordsman wander past and reading up on the local laws of the island. One of the pirates whose ship she had been on for the trip here had mentioned there were some oddball laws, so she read a copy of them as she finished her sandwich. While the bar's alcohol was lacking in potency, their food was particularly satisfying to her inner carnivore.

As the rain picked up, the swordsman took cover under a near-by tree, looking surprisingly relaxed in public. She could never been that casual anywhere, not if she wanted to avoid capture. She felt a bit of concern though, that the bench he was sitting on was stone rather than the other wooden benches around the square. Something about it played at the edged of her memory.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a group of about twenty armed men approached the dozing man. She re-wrapped her sandwich and stuffed it and her papers into her bag, ready in case the swordsman happened to be a heavy sleeper. She did not want to be involved, but she also was not about to let anyone get away with harming someone if she could help it.

Under her hood, one animal-like ear swiveled to better catch what was being said, but shot upward when she heard the large older man state the name "Roronoa Zoro?" and the swordsman confirm it. She had seen his wanted poster many times in checking to see if her own was posted on the islands she visited. It certainly explained why, aside from his unusual appearance, he seemed to stick in her mind. She had a good memory for faces, though she was not always able to attach the proper names to them.

"You're under arrest for desecration of Hero's Monument. Your penalty is death."

Lithium's head whipped around toward them, hidden eyes huge in shock. _Sweet sake, that stupid stone bench is the Hero's Monuement? Dammit...dammit..._

The weird laws on this island were mostly innocuous based on what she read, aside from one set. The Hero's Monument was this islands greatest treasure, practically deified in the resident's eyes. Any infraction against it was met with the harsh punishment of beheading, no exceptions.

 _Except that one..._

Mind whirling with the plan she set into motion, she slipped off the bench and ran into the neighboring park, shucking off her sweatshirt as ran. She did not want any of the men arresting Roronoa Zoro to recognize her from the bench. She found the entrance to the park that came out on the other side of the Hero's Monument, and ran up to them, hoping she looked appropriately breathless and worried.

 _Saints preserve me in alcohol...I hope this works..._

She felt a blush creep up her cheeks as she readied herself for the next part of her plan. Everything depended on this moment. She pushed roughly past some of the armed men, her ears laid back, putting herself between the large man and Zoro, throwing her arms around the swordsman's neck.

"I've been looking all over for you!"

"Oi!-" Zoro started to protest but she cut him off.

"-You said you would wait for me at the bar until I was done shopping! " She whispered into the flustered man's ear. "I'm Lithium, play along...I'll get you out of this mess."

To his credit, Zoro calmed down and even placed a hand on her back, albeit tentatively so.

The large man half-growled at her taking a step closer to them, though the shock at her unusual appearance still registered on his face. . "What do you think you're doing, girl?"

Lithium let go of Zoro, whirling to face the older man, her fangs bared a little. "What do you think you're doing to _my husband_?"


	2. Chapter 2

Zoro was not sure what was more perplexing, the fact that this stupid stone bench was a monument hat the town's law enforcement was going to execute him for sitting on, or the woman who ran up and hugged him.

He saw her for the briefest of moments before she threw her arms around his neck. He had seen a lot of weird people, even before the crew made it to the Grand Line. She was not the weirdest, but gray and white skin and animal ears was not what he would have considered normal either.

That she acted like she knew him just furthered the sheer amount of "what-the-hellery" his day now contained.

Yet it became clear what was going on when she whispered in his ear. "I'm Lithium, play along...I'll get you out of this mess."

 _Girl's got a plan? Eh I can work with that..._

Since her plan most obviously involved them being on hugging terms, he gently placed his hand on her back, touching not only warm slightly wet skin from the rain, but also damp fur. He schooled his expression into a small smile, rather than the confusion he was feeling.

The old man who he had assumed to be the leader of this band of enforcers demanded to know what she was doing. Zoro had little idea how he expected her to react, but the faint rumbling growl as she turned and stared down the old man, despite being more than a foot shorter than him was most definitely not it.

"What do you think you're doing to

 _my husband?"_

Had he not been focused on following her lead, Zoro was sure he would have fallen off the damn bench that caused the problem in the first place, instead of stand up behind her.

The old man squinted at them, disbelief clear on his face, though he cleared that expression when he met Zoro's scowl.

"How long have ya' been married?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow at this question, finding it odd in the circumstances, but the little woman looked up at him with a little smile and a splash of pink across her dual-toned cheeks.

"I told you people would ask that, love."

 _That's some damn good acting..._

"Don't know why everyone is so damn curious about it." Zoro hoped this would turn his confusion to their favor.

She rolled her eyes as turned back to the old man. "Four days and thirteen hours."

The old man's stern expression broke into a broad grin. "Countin' the hours are ya'?"

Zoro glanced at the other men around them, noticing that some of them were eyeing the woman with less confusion and more interest. While this was all an act, he did not like that fact. As far as these men knew, she was a married woman! He stepped a little closer and put his arm around her shoulders, watching with satisfaction as the men found others things to stare at.

Her blush turned a bright red, but he watched her play it off as bashfulness at the old man's question. She stared at the ground.

"Well...why wouldn't I?"

The old man chuckled. "Well you lucked out today, Roronoa. Wouldn't want to make a widow of this feisty little thing, or any little buns she may be bakin' daddy-less. And even if I did, our law forbids it."

Zoro smirked as the final piece of the puzzle clicked together. _Clever girl..._

The woman looked stunned alongside an even deeper blush. "What do you mean?"

"Ah, your husband broke one of our laws. Had ya' not been newlyweds, we would have executed him."

Her face was mixture relief and annoyance, her ears laid back like an angry cat as she elbowed him in the side. Much to his surprise, it actually hurt a little.

"I left you alone for an hour and this is the kind of trouble you get yourself into!"

The old man roared with laughter as he gestured for his men to disperse. "I'll be leaving you to your wife then, Roronoa."

As the men went back to their posts, they revealed Luffy a few feet from the edges of where the men were standing, a huge grin on his face.

"Zoro! You never told me you had a wife!"

The tension Lithium felt during the whole performance started to ease as the officers walked away. Then she saw the other man standing near them with the biggest grin she had ever witnessed in her twenty years.

"Zoro! You never told me you had a wife!"

Lithium was in that moment keenly aware that Zoro had not moved his arm yet because he jerked it away seconds later.

"Luffy! She isn't-"

The grinning man crossed the distance with a surprisingly springy jump, landing before them. "I'm Luffy and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates! Nice to meet ya' Zoro-wife!"

"Ah I'm Lithium and I'm not-"

He grabbed her wrist and Zoro's, pulling them down the street toward a odd group of people standing by the market stalls.

"Sanji finished the shopping so it's almost dinner time so hurry up! You have to try our cook's food, Zoro-wife!"

Lithium tried to dig her heels in and stop, but she only succeeded in stretching Luffy's arm. Zoro shook his head, pulling her back in step with him.

"Can't fight it now. He's the captain."

She nodded, sighing deeply as they neared the group. They seems odd from a distance, up close they were mismatched and odder still, but she saw friendly faces. She could not help but grin.

The red-haired woman shook her head when she saw her. "Luffy, who are you dragging along with our lost swordsman?"

Luffy grinned so broadly, Lithium swore his jaw dislocated. "Zoro's wife!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Uwaaaa you guys! You are too sweet! I did not expect follows, and reviews so quickly! -all the hugs-_

* * *

Zoro expected interesting reactions from his nakama at Luffy introducing the strange little woman as his wife. Usopp and Chopper's jaw nearly hitting the ground was expected. Nami's incredulous look as she sized up the "bride" and eventual smile was expected. Franky's slightly tearful cry of "SUUUPPPPER!" and Robin's mysterious smirk were expected. Brook and the shit cook's reaction on the other hand were surprises despite how long he had known them.

Watching the cook nearly swallow what was left of his cigarette and start sputtering half words was quite entertaining to him. He glanced at Lithium watching the spectacle with a nearly imperceptible smirk. She looked a bit wide-eyed and overwhelmed, but it seemed to amuse her as well.

"How...I can't...she's...and him...the marimo?...when?...what...h-how?" The cook kept this up until Robin helped him sit on a supply crate and put his head between his legs.

Brook waited until Sanji was settled to speak up, an unmistakable scowl on his skeletal features. He was normally jovial so this was not what he expected.

"And why wasn't I invited to the wedding? I would have played a song for such a momentous occasion!"

"Ah sorry..." Lithium began, her voice small, but still low and gravely in contrast to the other women. Her ears drooped in a surprisingly cute underscore of her apology. "But you see-"

"-You can play it after dinner." Luffy cut her off a second time. "She's our new nakama after all."

Zoro whipped his head toward Luffy, catching Lithium doing the same out of the corner of his eye. " Oi, Luffy you can't just..."

As his captain ignored him and demanded a meat feast to celebrate, he noticed a strange, mixed expression fall over her face. She spoke, but only he could hear her over the commotion as Sanji argued over feast plans.

"Nakama..." It sounded reverent, like a prayer, something sacred.

While Zoro knew it was pointless to argue with Luffy about his choice in nakama, he found his reason do so on principle suddenly lacking motivation. He had many valid reasons to but suspicious of her, but she had gone out of her way to save his life. And the way she spoke just now, with such ache in her voice...

Both of them were torn from their thoughts at the cooks bellowing. "IT'S HER FEAST, MAYBE SHE DOESN'T WANT ALL THE MEAT!"

Lithium tilted her head, her ears tilting at opposite quizzical angles. "Who doesn't want all the meat? Gimme' meat and alcohol and I'm happy."

Zoro laughed outright as the cook stopped his rant instantly, staring at her with the most confused look, then glanced at him with narrowed eyes before effortlessly sliding into his usual ridiculous behavior when faced with a woman.

"Well if that's what you would like, that's what I will make...Lithium was it?" The cook was still fawning, but Zoro gave him credit for falling to pieces like he was known to do. As far as he knew, she was married and to one of the two people who could certainly beat the shit out of him for overstepping his boundaries, so it made sense. Still, it was good to see the man had some form of restraint.

Lithium nodded. "Yes, that's right. And I would very much like that. These aren't for show."

She opened her mouth and pointed to two sets of razor fangs. Seeing them now, Zoro was not sure how he missed them. Apparently his pseudo-wife was a little fuzzy lady with many secrets. One thing that was not a secret for long was that she was a soft touch.

The minute she bared her fangs, Chopper was hiding behind Robin and Franky, though in his usual backwards way. Lithium's ears drooped so low they were flat against her head. She leaned down a little, but did not approach the tiny doctor.

"I'm so sorry! Really, I'm a nice person, I promise! I'd never eat a reindeer! Especially not a devil fruit user reindeer!"

While watching Chopper peek out from behind Robin's legs, Zoro felt the familiar prickle of concern for her statement. She seemed to know that out of the blue. Luffy was having his way though, so the swordsman knew he had plenty of time to ask her how she knew that.

He did not have much more time to think of that as Nami was directing him to the pile of supplies. The only downside to him being this strong was that people always expected him to carry things. It was effortless, but given the day he was having, he did not want to bother with it.

Especially when the cook was not doing his usual share in lieu of extra shopping for this meat feast. The man in question wandered up to Lithium, clearly suppressing a foolish grin. "What sort of alcohol would you like, Lithium-chan? Wine, something mixed maybe?"

Lithium's voice was utterly confident, her response instant. "Shinkiro sake, six years or older if you can manage it."

Zoro paused from hefting several crates. He drank enough bottles of sake in his years to know a premium brand name when it was mentioned. It was notorious for being just a step below the infamous fishman brew in sheer strength.

The cook frowned at her. "Are you sure? That's strong alcohol for such a tiny thing like you."

Lithium grinned over her shoulder as she followed him toward the supply pile.. "Eh, it decently strong, the older the better. Withing fifteen years or so."

The cook walked off shaking his head and muttering.

Zoro smirked to himself, finding this far more amusing than he probably should given the circumstances, as Usopp set another crate on his share of the load. He nodded to the sniper, who seemed to catch his expression.

Usopp snorted with laughter. "Well, I sorta' see how you two get along..."

Nami sighed deeply enough for everyone to hear. "Thanks Luffy, with Sanji gone, we won't have enough hands to carry everything. One of will have to stay and wait for you muscle-bound guys to come back for it."

When the navigator turned to look at the leftover supplies, what she found instead was Lithium with the crates in her arms. Her load may have been smaller than his but it was still impressive considering she only came up to Zoro's shoulder.

It seemed a trick of the light, but she seemed far more muscular than she had moments before. Zoro was unsure what to make of that either. He did enjoy the surprised looks on his nakama's faces though. As for himself, he was just going with it. It seemed this unusual woman was going to keep surprising them, so he had best start expecting it.

Luffy laughed and started for the docks. "This way Zoro-wife! To the Thousand Sunny!"

As they followed their hyperactive captain, and ultimately Nami, to the Sunny, Usopp grinned past the crates he was carrying. "Well if I was left with any doubt after the alcohol talk..."

Zoro felt a little bit of weight lift from him. He might be stuck in a bizarre situation, but at least he had some common ground with the person he was stuck with.

* * *

Lithium watched the fish swirl around the large on-board tank of the Sunny, idly chewing on the rest of her forgotten sandwich. It would in no way ruin her appetite for Sanji's cooking later, the scents of which was already wafting about the ship. A mere sandwich was nothing for her in the grand scheme of eating, especially since she came off a long shift before she and Zoro ended up in this mess.

Said man napped on a bench not too far from her. She had hoped to talk to him about their situation but he had drifted off rather suddenly, before she worked up the nerve to start the conversation. Both of them had been banished to the aquarium bar so Franky could finish his surprise for them. She now knew, after introductions, that Franky was the shipwright, but for the life of her, she could not guess what he was up to for them.

They were an interesting crew, even more than their reputation indicated. That there were four devil fruit users was distinctive enough.

 _And now they have a shapeshifter...I did not dilute the weirdness at all..._

She cast her gaze on the dozing swordsman, debating whether or not she should draw him now or ask permission later.

 _But will there be a later? Surely when this is all cleared up, I'll need to leave..._

It took her a moment to realize her hands had made the decision for her and began pulling her supplies from her bag. She shook her head and gave in, sticking her pencils an stick eraser into her messy bun of silver hair.

She began sketching, her blue faintly-glowing eyes sweeping over him, memorizing his details in her usual clinical fashion. His musculature was as perfect as any she had ever seen. Better even, perfect to add to her combat shifts. She would have to thank him for the strength boost when he woke up. Well, at least when she finally explained that she was a shape shifter. She scooted closer, doing several studies on his hands.

 _Tiny hairline scars...knicks taken out of his knuckles...definite callouses...the marks of a swordsman and sailor...I wonder what they feel like..._

Lithium's mind was prone to wander due to her ability to picture almost anything mentioned, even something she herself thought of, often farther than she would have liked. She silently reminded her mind that she was not actually married to this man so it needed to clean up it's mental images. This didn't stop her from reaching out to see what his hand felt like in an innocent fashion.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as the dumbwaiter clunked to the bottom of shaft, leaping backward and falling off the bench in a tangle of limbs. "Saints preserve me in alcohol!"

She never hit the floor though, held up by the hand she had been reaching for in the first place. Zoro looked down at her out of the corner of his eye, a small smirk playing at the corner of his lips. He pulled her back up with no effort on his part.

"I don't know about you, but I think you'd be better off not pickled in booze."

She swore her face was going to burst into flames from the blazing blush spreading across her cheeks. She looked away, knowing if she looked at him, she would turn shades of red normal humans could only imagine. "Ah...well...I..."

Zoro grinned, letting go of her hand. "At least you would die happy?"

Despite the wildfire on her face, she grinned back, giggling a little. "Very, though it depends on the alcohol. None of that weak crap."

She sniffed the air, catching some appealing scents from the dumbwaiter. " Speaking of which, I believe Sanji sent us some decently strong alcohol."

Zoro sat up, suddenly very interested. "Wonder if it's the Shinkiro brew."

Lithium slid open the elevator door, but was looking over her shoulder. "It is, and ten years old by the smell of it."

She pulled the tray from the dumbwaiter, chuckling a little at the handwritten note Sanji left, instructing her to eat all she wanted of the snacks but only let "her husband" eat his onigiri. She set the tray down between them and picked up the bottle, examining the brewer mark.

"Ah, Sanji picked a good year. And a good bottle. I can personally attest to that." She held the bottle out to the swordsman, point to the mark, two dark triangles on a white circle. "That's my mark."

He raised a sharp eyebrow at her and took the bottle from her. He popped the cork with his thumb and took at long drink, nodding his approval. "If it's truly yours, you do good work."

Her ears curled up in a happy fashion. It was rare she received a compliment for her work. "I am a brew master, trained by Shinkiro-sensei himself. Its not my best work though."

She handed him one of the onigiri, and selected one of the snacks, thrilled to see that Sanji remembered her preference for meat. "I could let you try that after dinner if you would like, provided I'm still here and all."

That eyebrows raised at her again. "Still here? Why wouldn't you be?"

Lithium tilted her head. "Well, once we get this misunderstanding cleared up, won't I need to leave?"

Much to her surprise, he laughed loud and hard at this. "You won't be going anywhere unless Luffy gives you permission. He's going to be the hardest to convince this isn't real."

"But surely the others will listen to reason, right?"

Zoro was silent for a moment. "Well...I hope so."


	4. Chapter 4

Zoro sank a little deeper into the small couch that now sat along one wall of the new addition to the Sunny's rooms. He stared at the bottle in his hands, one of Lithium's private stock rather than the Shinkiro brew they had shared earlier that evening.

He took another drink, admitting she was correct to be as confident in her skills. Her brew was just shy of too much for him. In other words, perfect.

The woman in question was bathing as she had to share a room. He was not bothered by it, but she seemed more insistent when she learned he was her new roommate.

Both he and Lithium tried during the feast to fix the mix up but it never seemed to work. Every single time the fuzzy woman tried, Luffy inevitably interrupted her, either with inane comments or distracting her by trying to steal her food.

Well, he only attempted the latter twice. Lithium's reflex response was stabbing the rubber man's hand with a fork. It was enough it deterrent this time.

As for himself, he swore his nakama were ignoring him. He would start explaining and whomever he was speaking to would nod, smile and ask a question about the relationship that did not exist. Even the normally perceptive Robin seemed to have no idea he just told her the marriage never happened,

After several rounds of this, he stopped trying and Lithium started making up stories in order to answer the prying questions.

As near as he could remember, they had an arranged marriage that due to strange customs was only official when she turned 20 back in January and she finally caught up to him on this island.

That and Nami had whispered a question to her over dessert that turned the poor woman deep crimson and she sputtered "N-n-no!...not...no..."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what sort of question the navigator asked her.

Zoro held the cool glass of the amber bottle to his forehead, hoping it would stave off the headache he felt when he thought about it too much. While this was awkward as hell for him, he could not begin to imagine how Lithium felt about this. She had done a stranger a great service and suddenly found herself uprooted into a pirate crew. A pirate crew of damn good people, but still, once it was discovered, she would probably receive a bounty for the proximity alone.

Not to mention she was stuck with him. He did not think himself good company. His training took most of his time, the rest was his share of the chores and napping. She would likely be bored to death by the end of the week.

Zoro sighed deeply, taking the bottle down from his head and drinking slowly, concentrating on the intense burn as it went down.

"Well considering that was a full bottle when I left you, I must have done a decent job."

He sat up, slightly surprised he did not hear her enter. "Oi, Lithium, you a ninja or something?"

She blushed a little, scratching behind one ear. "Ah, part cat actually...clouded leopard to be exact..."

She was dressed in an oversized blue teeshirt that had seen better days and nothing else. Her jeans gone, he could see her legs were white and gray in the same fashion as her arms. From what he had seen, her skin seemed to have the pattern of a cat's fur, colored on her back, white on the front, so he was not entirely shocked.

It was still a strange answer though. "Part cat, eh? Care to explain that?"

Another strange expression passed over her face, but she sat her bath things on the end table and sat next to him. She curled on herself, tiny on her end of the couch. It seemed to him she was pointedly avoiding contact, even by accident.

"I don't want to get into it too much. But I'm a bit of a genetic amalgam. At least that's what the people who made me this way called it. I'm also part wolf and cuttlefish, among other things."

Zoro felt his face turn confused. "People made you this way? Why?"

She heaved a sigh, as heavy as his from earlier. "To make make devil fruit users who can swim."

She looked up from her toes, her ice blue gaze locked on his eyes, waiting for his reaction.

It was his turn to sigh. He rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Okay...yeah...let's not get into that right now. But you have to tell everyone tomorrow. That's not a small secret."

She did not saying anything at first, nodding and placing her chin on her knees. "I would have said something earlier, but I didn't expect things to get this far. "

She gestured about the room. "Franky fit a room in the ship just for us...they found furniture..."

Her already pink cheeks were pinker still. "I've never had a place to stay like this before..."

Zoro regarded her silently, as she seemed to become smaller yet again. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, that eye glowing animal-like at him. Sympathy tugged at him.

"Well, you're here now. We can make the best of this, even though it's awkward."

She nodded again with a small smile. "Awkward is an understatement. Like saying Luffy has a big appetite."

Zoro smirked, glad she could make jokes about this mess. They could make this odd exisitance work. He took another drink of her brew.

 _I could put up with a lot of shit if she kept this stocked..._

Still as if she were cut from marble, Lithium stared as the swordsman tossed aside his green coat. His back, in contrast to the rest of what she could see, was completely untouched. Not even the faintest scar showed on the moonlight that filtered through the porthole.

Only when he turned was she able to tear her eyes away, but not before catching a better look at the scar that ran the length of his torso. That just about did her in.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to clear her mind for her shifting meditation, but it kept wandering back to that tanned skin sliding over work-hardened muscles.

 _Saints preserve me in alcohol...damn...just...damn..._

She flinched as he sat down next to her on the floor. She stole enough of a glance to see he was joining in on the meditation. Some of her nerves were soothed knowing that if he was meditating, he would not see her going through her combat shifts. She would rather explain that to everyone at once.

They flared right back when his knee bumped hers as he settled himself. She did not blame him for it, as the floor was largely taken up by the bed, couch, wardrobe and a small desk. That did not mean the close proximity was not affecting her concentration.

She predicted a lot of accidental cuttlefish tentacle shifts before this session was through.

She snuck another look to check of his eye was closed. She was impressed at how easily he slipped into meditation mode. It took her a couple more minutes of adjusting before she was ready.

She cleared her mind and let the shifts slide in and out, running on instinct. She only broke concentration twice, once because Zoro cleared his throat and then once more because her wayward mind decided it wanted golden skin and powerful muscles over routine shifting practice.

The man in question was not done meditating when she stood. She was glad of that because she nearly fell into his lap trying to get up, so he did not see her flailing as she righted herself.

She padded silently to the bed and grabbed one of the pillows. She then grabbed a blanket from her bag and proceeded to make a nest for herself on the loveseat.

"What are you doing?"

Lithium leaped backwards like a startled feline, landing on the edge of the bed. She perched there, her eyes huge as she stared at the swordsman.

"Sweet sake don't do that!"

He smirked, clearly amused by her panic. "I just asked a question. So what were you doing?"

"Making my bed."

The eyebrow over his one visible raised. "The bed is already made. Go sleep on it. You're standing in it already."

Lithium frowned . "Where are you sleeping?"

"On the side you aren't on." He gave her a look that said that was a dumb question. "Where else?"

She picked her jaw up off the floor. "But...but...we aren't...that...that's not..."

Rather than try to finish her sentence, she slipped off the bed and walked back to the loveseat.

Zoro stopped her with his arm, tossing her pillow and blanket at her with his other hand. "Sleep on the bed, woman."

She felt her face flush, knowing she was turning all kinds red. "That's...that's not...appropriate..."

She ducked under his arm and sat on the loveseat with a stubborn look. "I'll be fine here."

The swordsman whirled around, scooping her up, blankets and all, and threw her over his shoulder. "You're sleeping on the bed."

He dropped her on the mattress, only to watch her roll off the other side and scrabble across the floor toward the couch, wearing her blanket like a turtle shell.

He moved to intercept her and she rolled to the side and back on her feet. "You can sleep on it! I'll be fine!"

He picked up her blanket and held it open in front of him. "Why are you being so stubborn?"

She leaped up on the back of the couch. "Because we shoudn't!"

He leaped at her before she could dodge, wrapping her completely in blanket. All she could do is struggle, despite the obvious futility of it.

"Ah! Zoro!"

He dropped her on the bed, the end of the blanket tucked under her. "You're sleeping right there."

She followed him with her eyes, glaring as she squirmed. He ignored her and set his katana within arm's reach and flopped down on the bed.

"Fine..." She half-pouted, realizing he was already asleep so her death glare was for nothing.

 _And of course I have to watch him sleep until I'm asleep...dangit Zoro..._


	5. Chapter 5

Zoro woke up a few hours later, like clockwork, ready to take his watch shift. He stretched languidly, or at least he tried to but met with resistance. He glanced over and chuckled softly to himself. He had forgotten about his new roommate, who had escaped her blanket bonds in her sleep. She lay on her side, one arm and one leg draped over him.

 _Well now her stubbornness about sleeping on the bed makes sense...she was trying to avoid touching me..._

Clearly it was a different story when she was not awake. When he moved, she latched on tighter, pressing her face into his bare back. He frowned, not disliking it but knowing full well he had a job to do. He did not have the time to deal with trying not to wake her, so he went the simplest route. Sliding out from under her limbs did not work, so he reached around with his other arm and shook her shoulder.

"Oi, Lithium, wake up!"

The fuzzy ear she was not laying snapped toward him mere seconds before she exploded into motion, nearly flying away from him and landing in a crouch on the foot board. A faint growl reached his ears, rumbling from deep in her chest. Her ears were laid back, teeth bared. She would have been the very picture of fierce had the circumstances been warranting such a reaction.

"Do you always react like that when startled?"

Her ears relaxed at his words, one adopting a curious angle though her face flushed pink. "Only when I forget someone is with me..."

 _...that blush is cute...wait...what?_

She eased her knees back down onto the mattress, flopping face first once she was steady. Her ears flicked toward him, almost unnoticeable if it weren't for the two white stripes on each one. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nah, I was about to take my morning watch. Had to get up either way."

The little woman yawned toothily, blinking her faintly glowing eyes at him a few times. "Ah...well that's good...want company? I'm wide awake now."

Zoro shrugged as he stood up, grabbed his katana and flipped his coat over his shoulder. "Don't mind, but it's not the least bit entertaining."

Lithium seemed to ooze off the bed, dragging her personal blanket with her. She popped back up, the blanket over her head so that all the was visible was one glowing eye. "Lead the way. Maybe the boredom will lull me back to sleep."

The only way Zoro knew she was still behind him was the soft sound of her breathing. Her footfalls were silent, not even the rustle of fabric giving away her presence. The moment they stepped onto the main deck though, a growl rumbled from behind him, not the surprised one from before, but a deep truly menacing sound. Without a word, she pushed past him toward the dimly-lit figures before them.

An inhuman snarl answered her growl as she collided with one of them. She snarled back as they wrestled on the deck lawn. "GET THE HELL OFF THIS SHIP!"

Zoro wasted no more time, drew his swords and joined the fray, seeing the woman toss her opponent off the ship and smack into the ship docked next to them with a sickening crack. The light was low, so he could only tell so much about his opponents, except that they were surprisingly agile. The one squaring off with him was large, muscular and growling deeper than Lithium. Experience suggested male, but he assumed nothing. Assumptions tended to get people killed.

He waited for his opponent to move, taking the few seconds to assess the situation. There seemed to be ten figures aside from Lithium, who was easy to pick out due to her small stature. He could handle them without breaking a sweat. He casually smacked away his opponent with the blunt side of his blades.

Zoro sensed the man "sneaking" up behind him but halted his attack as blood spurted from the man's neck. Lithium's weight on the attacker's back pressed him to the ground. She stood, kicking away the blade he had been carrying with a growl.

She hissed the word "poison" before darting off with speed he had not expected, even from such a small person. She was ruthless and relentless in pursuing the intruders, to the point that Zoro let her have the fight, there to step in if she needed it.

 _She is royally pissed off at these guys...sucks to be them right now...and she's not half bad a fighter..._

When she had all the men incapacitated, she heaved each of them off the side of the ship, growling all the while she did it. That done, she leaned against the railing, her shoulders heaving with each ragged breath she took.

Zoro approached her with caution. He doubted she could do serious damage to him, but he did not want to give her a reason to try. "Oi...you alright?"

Her growl was still present in her voice as she turned halfway to him. "Better now that they're gone."

"Who were they?"

The moon had come out from behind the clouds, casting an eerie light on her as she turned to him, trails of blood still down her face from biting the poison user's neck. "Murderers. Child killers. Scum trying to take me back..."

While composed outside, Zoro shuddered inwardly, none of this sitting well with him.

"You can tell me more in the crow's nest. Go wash up first."

Lithium nodded, padding softly past him to the nearest sink. He ruffled her hair on her way past. She leaned into his hand ever so slightly, but kept walking.

Zoro made his way to the observation deck, grabbing his coat and her forgotten blanket on the way. He stopped half-way and went around the ship check in on everyone before returning.

Lithium was waiting for him, leaning against the railing again. She seemed smaller than when she left him, but it may just have been the fact that she was no longer radiating killing intent. She still had blood down the front of her shirt, but her face was clean, which also eased her menace.

As he approached, alarm set in when he realized she was shaking, a few tears running down her face. Not sure what to do, he threw her blanket over her head like she had it before and gently pushed her in the direction of the crow's nest.

Usopp was on his way down the ladder when they approached. "I was going to be made that you were late, Zoro, but I see you were little busy. Who were those guys?"

Zoro shrugged. "Not sure, but Lithium knows. Don't worry about it right now."

The sniper did not look at all satisfied with his answer, but when he looked to the shaking woman, he nodded.

"I'll find out when she is ready." The younger man sent a small smile to Lithium and walked back to the men's quarters for a few more hours sleep before breakfast.

Lithium had nodded to Usopp before scaling the ladder with the ease of a much smaller creature than she was. He followed, wondering if one of the others things she had in her peculiar make-up was squirrel since she climbed like one. He shook his head and looked up to make sure she was still climbing that well and not falling. He could clearly see she was not falling, but could also clearly see an eyeful of purple underwear. He silently averted his eyes, feeling a slight burn on his cheeks.

 _I saw nothing...as far as she knows, I did not see her ass...cute ass though..._

She was already seated on the wooden bench around the perimeter of the room when he climbed all the way in the crow's nest. She had her legs curled to her chest again, her blanket pulled tighter around her face. She looked miserable.

"Are you alright?"

Lithium started to nod but quickly began to shake her head. "No...no I'm not...I have not been okay for a long time...maybe ever..."

Zoro frowned deeply, sitting between her and the telescope. He was still able to reach that if he needed to, but the windows would have to do for now. "Tell me what happened to you."

* * *

Lithium stared at Zoro, her eyes wide. The tremors she had after the battle returned with full force. Holding back the rage she felt was taking its toll on her nerves. The man's face was full of genuine concern though so despite this, she felt more willing to tell him what he wanted to know. She swallowed back the screams she wanted to loose and pulled back the blanket from her face. Her ears pressed against the side of her face, giving away the grief beneath the anger.

"It's hard to talk about...but I will..."

She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and sighed. "I already told you there were people who made me this way...in order to create devil fruit users who could swim...it wasn't just me...there were one hundred of us kids...modified in hopes of finding a combination that would produce that effect."

She glance up, seeing Zoro's eyes on her, never wavering from hers. She felt tears burning her eyes already despite trying to hold them in. "I'm the only one left..."

The swordsman's face had been neutral but concerned until she said this, a dark shadow passing over his expression. "Why is that?"

The shape shifter let her tears fall freely, not caring any longer. Her siblings deserved to be heard of, even if Zoro was the only one who knew this. They deserved to be remembered. She owed them that much. " Some of us...didn't survive past birth...twenty of us to be exact...Another ten of us didn't survive eating their devil fruit..."

"There were only six of us left...after the water test..." She clenched her fists, feeling her claws dig into her palms but did not care. The pain helped silence the memories of their screams. "They threw each of us into the water...one by one...the ones who were normal devil fruit users...they let them drown...I...I...tried..."

She growled, punching the back of the bench with her right fist, splintering the wood. " I TRIED TO SAVE THEM AND THEY STOPPED ME! THEY CALLED THEM USELESS TRASH! THEY WERE MY FAMILY!"

Her fist shook as she screamed again, blood slipping out between her fingers her ears laid back. "THEY MADE ME WATCH THEM DIE!"

Zoro scooted closer to her, reaching out slowly toward her hands. "You busted up your knuckles..."

He slowly pried her hands open, hissing slightly at the damage she did to her palms. While he examined the bloody mess she made of herself, she watched his face. A flicker of anger shot across his features. Her ears drooped to the sides of her head again.

 _I didn't mean to punch the wall...or hurt myself...good goin' Lithium..._

"I'm sorry..."

The man frowned, shaking his head, flipping her hands over. His frown deepened when he saw the white hairline scars on her fingers. He ran his thumb over the nearest set of lines."You're going to go see Chopper once you're done..."

"But it doesn't hurt that bad." She barely managed to squeak out as her face burned red. He was holding her hands so casually and yet she could barely breathe.

Zoro looked her dead in the eye, confusion flickering across his face, though only for a moment. Despite only have one of his own to glare at her, it was just as effective as if he had both. "You're going if I have to drag you there kicking and screaming."

His expression softened. "So don't make me."

Despite the horrible mix of emotions she was captive to, a tenuous smile pulled at her lips. "I promise...the most you will have to do is throw me over your shoulder..."

He snorted in laughter as he set her hands back in her lap then sat back. His face grew serious again. "So the people who made you were horrible bastards?"

"The worst...we were all failures, even remaining six of us...one sister lost a battle with an infection...one brother killed himself by eating another devil fruit...two were...dissected...my closest brother was shot...they wanted to vivisect me...since I was the most successful failure..."

"Vivisect?" His eyebrow raised.

"Dissecting me while I'm alive..."

The swordsman growled, a good facsimile of her own animal one. "What the hell...how dare they..."

"They wanted to know why my transformation is unstable...I was supposed to be a zoan...I'm more a general shapeshifter."

She held out a hand toward him and slowly shifted it to a standard human skin tone. Her claws also receded, but the pain would not let her hold it long.

Zoro watched her arm without a word then met her gaze again. "How did you avoid being a science project?"

A few tears welled up in her eyes again. "One of the scientists died to help escape...he...he may have been my father..."

Zoro sat in silence for a moment, his arms crossed. "So those guys were trying to take you back to that?"

Lithium nodded, pulling the blanket around her again. "Yeah...they were guards...the island had a distinctive scent...so I'd know someone from it anywhere..."

Zoro growled again. "You're safe here. You don't have to worry about them anymore."

She felt like her heart was bursting. "I haven't been safe in so long..."

"Don't doubt it for a second."


	6. Chapter 6

_Welcome new readers! I'm glad you're here! Thank you to those who have reviewed the chapters so far. I really enjoy hearing from you!_

 _Small note: The cuttlefish mentioned in this chapter is the flamboyant cuttlefish. It's colorful and very small, but the only poisonous cuttlefish known._

* * *

Zoro scanned the ship's surroundings as the first pinks and oranges of dawn appeared on the horizon. They were still docked so there was not much to watch for, except that the events from earlier had him on edge. The men who had come for Lithium were at the bottom of the ocean now, but it still bothered him that they had slipped on without notice. He noticed no hint of them and its rare anything slipped past Usopp's gaze anymore.

His eye came to rest on the petite figure on the bench wrapped almost completely in her blanket, only one dual-toned foot and ear sticking out. He had prompted her to talk about some of the good things in her past and she had gladly agreed. She talked of her favorite brother, 25, and of her years with Brew Master Shinkiro until she fell asleep mid-sentence, nearly falling off the bench. It was a good thing he had quick reflexes or she would have had a face to floor relationship in a most jarring manner.

While he kept his eye on task most of the time, his mind wandered to all she had told him. Her past had been rattling enough, but it was not until later, when she told him she was only five when she escaped the laboratory did the weight of the pain she carried hit him. She had watched so many brothers and sisters die while so young. Even her time with Shinkiro was marked by death. The reason that the sake's quality dropped off five years ago was because the old man died protecting her from bounty hunters, shot countless times before she could reach him.

She snapped and killed them all.

She seemed so innocent now, but he had seen a taste of what she was capable of doing to a person. She had ripped the poison user's throat out after all, without hesitation. Barely-contained rage seemed to boil just below her surface. It was more than concerning, as he wanted to trust her like he did the rest of his nakama but he still did not know enough. Not yet.

 _You shouldn't have been treated like that...you didn't deserve that..._

A flicker of movement sent him to his feet, his hand on Shusui's hilt until he recognized the form of Franky approaching the crow's nest to relieve him of watch. While he had acknowledged it was sunrise, he had not fully realized it was also breakfast time and the end of his watch.

 _Good, Luffy will be up then...he needs to hear her story..._

He looked over to her again, not sure what to make of his great reluctance to wake her. She looked so peaceful, her one visible ear twitching from time to time as she lay there. With a sigh, he scooped her up, blanket and all and dropped from the crow's nest a few feet in front of Franky.

The shipwright grinned but said nothing, simply nodding to him. They had done this trade-off enough for the cyborg to know better than to talk to Zoro before he ate breakfast, let alone tease him about anything. Zoro offered him an eyebrow raise as a way to acknowledge the good-natured ribbing left unsaid. Franky patted the younger man's shoulder as he passed.

The swordsman managed to dodge everyone else on the way back to their room. He pushed open the door with his foot, sighing softly as he strode across the small room. He set her down on the mattress and pulled the other blanket around her. He grabbed the bottle of her custom brew before heading for the door.

 _This mess would be easier to deal with if she wasn't cute..._ He took a swig, still impressed at the strength of her handiwork. _...and talented...she's confusing the hell out of me..._

He almost smacked into an angry cook on his way out.

"Oi...what's your problem, curly brow?"

The scowl on the half of his face that was visible was deep set. "You're being too rough on her."

Zoro met his glare, though he felt clueless as to what the other man meant. "Rough on her?"

"You know what I mean." Sanji snarled. "Everyone could hear you. She said no and you forced her anyway."

 _The hell does he think happened...oh shit...that..._

"You have no idea what you're talking about, shit cook." His glare deepened, feeling the insult more keenly than when Sanji usually gave him a hard time. Making fun of his hair or habits was one thing, this was taking a shot at his honor. "Nothing happened. Now shut up, she's trying to sleep in there."

Sanji looked unconvinced, but started to move away from the door, spying the bottle in his hand. "Where did you get that? That's not one of the ones I bought."

Zoro followed him, holding out the bottle to him. The hand-written label read "Cute But Deadly Sake" and had a fanciful drawing of a brightly colored cuttlefish beneath the name. "You know your sake, see if you can guess."

Sanji took the bottle and examined the label. "I've never seen this one before."

The cook popped the cork and almost immediately started reeling, so much that Zoro had to steady him, as he struggled to put the cork back in. "The hell is this?"

"It's from the Mugiwara's own brew master." Zoro grinned broadly, feeling a swell of pride at being able to stump the otherwise incredibly knowledgeable chef. "Lithium was one of Shinkiro's apprentices and the only one taught to brew more than just his usual sake."

Most of the other man's anger seemed to pass at this news. "We will have to set up what she needs for brewing then. It will be a delight to work with her!"

Sanji handed him the bottle as he walked away. "Don't be late for breakfast, marimo!"

Zoro shook his head, sure the cook was more than thrilled at the idea of Lithium's presence in the kitchen, even if she was "off limits". He had to admit though, he hadn't thought about asking if Lithium wanted a place to brew. He had hoped she would, but asking was another thing. He thought it might be imposing on her, when he had already caused her enough trouble by sitting his ass on the wrong bench.

He headed for the dining room, not surprised to find Luffy already bothering Sanji for food before the cook was ready to serve it. Zoro had to yell to be heard over the commotion.

"Oi, Luffy! I gotta' talk to you about Lithium!"

The captain turned his head completely around as only the rubber man could. "Oh? What about Zoro-wife?"

* * *

Lithium woke with a start, the blankets flying across the small room. Her nose calmed her nerves though, the smell of her belongings, the wood of the Sunny and the lingering scent of her accidental pseudo-husband prevailed over the hated scent of her birth land still ingrained in her shirt.

"They're gone now...Zoro and I dealt with them...I'm safe...I'm safe..."

She dragged herself out of bed, stretching the knots out of her protesting muscles. "That's what I get for falling asleep on a bench..."

Her nose twitched, picking up the glorious scent of bacon, among other wonderful things Sanji must have prepared. She threw on clothing and picked up the blanket mess she made as fast as she could and followed her nose to the kitchen.

She was not prepared for the twin tackle hugs of Chopper and Nami when she stepped in, but remained standing with a little bit of emergency muscle shifting. "Ah, is everything okay?"

Chopper looked up tearfully from her arms. "Zoro told us about your past..."

She looked up from the tiny doctor, catching the gaze of the swordsman. His smile was slight, but it was not missed. She returned it before looking back to Chopper. "Ah, he did...well, I'm glad. It's hard for me to tell people. I lost my nakama back then..."

Luffy bounced across the room, joining in on the group hug, wrapping his arms around them, snake-like. "You're our nakama now, Zoro-wife."

He had a huge smile though his expression grew sober. "And if you know where to go, we will stop the people who did this to you."

"You...you would do that?" Her ears perked up, looking around at the faces looking back at her. Zoro smiled when her eyes met his and nodded.

Nami smiled as she tried to squirm out of Luffy's arms. "We don't appreciate when our nakama is hurt, even in the past. And from what Zoro said, it's still causing you trouble. Who would have thought Zoro's wife would be worth sixty million just for living?"

The navigator then glared at Luffy, poking him in the ribs. "Speaking of living, if you don't let Lithium-chan eat breakfast, she's not long for this world. I can hear her stomach rumbling."

Lithium giggled as the rubber man retracted his limbs. She sat down at the table next Zoro, Sanji slipping her food in front of her before Luffy could knock him over for it. She dug in with as much enthusiasm as she had at the feast the night before. Sanji's food was an art form she felt incredibly grateful to eat. There had been too many days when she was younger when food was scarce not to appreciate every bit of it.

Luffy sat across from her, watching her for a moment of inattentiveness to her plate. She growled at him, eating with pointed purpose. "I'm not going to give you any, so you settle down."

Luffy just kept watching, but grinned. "So, Zoro told me you can turn into things."

Lithium's fork met his hand as it approached her plate. "You mean shape-shift? Yeah, I can. I have limits but I can."

She grinned impishly at her captain. "I'll show you when I finish Sanji's insanely good cooking. I might even take requests if you stop trying to steal my bacon."

Luffy's eyes sparkled as he sat back, waiting obediently for her to finish. There was a slight murmur among the others. Lithium could only guess that this was an unusual occurrence for hyperactive man. She was just happy to eat her food without being on the defensive. The minute she ate her last forkful, Luffy was ready with a request.

"You should turn into Zoro."

Lithium nearly choked on her orange juice. "Well...I guess that does demonstrate most of my limits."

She stood from the table, tapping Zoro's shoulder. "If you would stand with me, I would appreciate it."

Zoro stood without complaint standing casually next to her. "Just like this?"

"Face me."

They stood like that, Zoro making a face that spoke of slight confusion mixed with a great deal of curiosity.

She ran her eyes over him a couple times to confirm a few details, hoping he did not find it weird. If he did, he was hiding it well.

She closed her left eye and began the shift, molding each part of her body to into an approximate likeness of the swordsman. In a minute, Zoro was standing across from a shorter female version of himself.

Stunned silence filled the room before Luffy started laughing, joined shortly by Usopp and Chopper. Sanji seemed to be trying not to laugh as he collected her dishes, but he was failing. The others were grinning.

Lithium giggled with him. "As you can see, I can't shift into male, or change my height too much. So I had to do a little guess work but otherwise, how did I do?"

Nami made a face. "It's good...good enough to be downright creepy...you're standing exactly the same way he is too."

Robin smiled. "It's not just your shifting that's good. You're a mimic, are you not?"

Zoro shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he stared at her, a mixed expression on his face. Lithium shifted hers in the same fashion a fraction of a second behind him.

"Why yes, I am a mimic of sorts." Lithium turned to grin at the archeologist. She knew from the bits of conversation they had at the feast that Robin came by the title honestly so she was not surprised she picked up on her studied abilities.

"I can also use my shifts when I fight." She slipped out of the Zoro shift. "When I don't try for a likeness, I can do aspects of a person near-perfectly."

She focused on shifting her muscles as developed as Zoro's, though scaled to fit herself. "Like this. It looks weird but it works."

She whipped her head back around a Zoro started laughing in a wry fashion. She tilted her head at him.

"That's why you seemed to shrink after the fight!"

Her ears relaxed and she laughed with him as she shifted back to normal. "Yeah, and thanks. I was using your musculature for it. Very effective."

She noticed Luffy's eyes glittering even more. She could practically see the wheels turning in his head, but before he could say anything more, Nami and Robin were flanking her, Nami linking her arm with her.

"If you boys will excuse us, we are taking Lithium-chan to the library so we can figure out where this lab island is." Nami pulled her from the dining area fast enough that Lithium's short legs struggled to keep, Robin right behind them, waving and grinning at the men in a way that said no one was going to argue with this.

They walked swiftly to the library, Nami clearly not wanting to waste a second. Robin giggled softly at Lithium's confused expression. "If we had not taken you away like that, our captain would have requested you shift into all manner of strange things until you died from exhaustion."

Nami shook her head. "I wish I could say Robin was exaggerating and just being her normal morbid self, but...Luffy doesn't know when to quit."

Lithium laughed as they entered the library, Robin closing the door behind them. "Well I would have hit my limit way before then. You'd know because I'd be cranky and need to eat like Luffy."

Nami plopped down in a chair set before a drafting table. "Please say that doesn't happen often. Our food budget is already strained from his enormous appetite."

Lithium sat next to Robin on the cushioned bench around the perimeter of the room, aside from where the desk sat. "Ah, no, only if I do too many complicated shifts, or if I'm stuck in a shift for a while. I can only hold most shifts for about four hours before I can't shift out of it until I've slept for a while. Then I have to eat Luffy-style."

Nami sighed with relief, then began digging through a bin of rolled papers. "Well that's good. So lets get down to business. What do you remember about that island? Would it be too much to think you remember the name?"

Lithium frowned, nodding. "Unfortunately, I don't know that one. But I do know it was a summer island. Tropical with an inland lake that took up most of the inner area of the island. Also a large coral reef to the south west of the coast."

The navigator nodded a couple time. "We can work with that. Plenty of details."

She pointed to a shelf of books. "Robin-chan, if you could check the atlases, Lithium-chan and I will go through the loose maps."

The women worked in relative silence, finding many maps that came close, but lacked one of the key features, or did not have enough information to rule out. They were a few hours in when there was a knock on the door. Lithium nearly jumped out her skin as she lept backward, perching on the desk, which was thankfully free of maps. Robin looked up from the atlas on her lap and chuckled as Nami unfolded herself from the bench.

She opened the door, allowing Sanji to enter with a tray of drinks and snacks. "Hello lovely ladies! I thought I would see how the search is going and bring you something to refresh yourselves as you work. Today I have cheesecake...why is Lithium-chan on the desk?'

Nami shook her head. "It was so quiet in here, you scared the daylights out of her with your knock."

Lithium's ears perked the minute Sanji said "cheesecake". She hopped off the desk, scuttled across the floor on all fours and slowly stood up next to Sanji with huge eyes, her hands clasped together in front of her chest.. "You said cheesecake. What kind?"

Sanji chuckled at her, not knowing what he had done bringing that particular dessert. "Raspberry chocolate."

The fuzzy woman took a few deep breaths, her eyes returning to normal size. "That's my favorite...there isn't more, is there?"

The cook tilted his head. "I'm glad it your favorite, but no, I made this especially for you three."

Lithium sighed heavily with relief. "Oh good...the kitchen is safe then..."

Sanji and Nami stared at her, but before either could say anything Robin interjected. "I believe I have found the island."

Robin held up the atlas she had been flipping through to a page with an island that perfectly fit the description, labeled Sea Angel Island. Lithium turned, eyes locked on the page as she approached the older woman. She touched the page tentatively, tracing an area by the large inland lake. "The lab is here. There's a dock attached to the upper level that goes out into the lake...where all my siblings are laid to rest..."

She looked over her shoulder at the two by the door. "This is it...where I was born..."


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello again to any new people who have taken to reading this. I'm glad you're here. Sorry this took so long. Some crazy things happened to me this week!_

 _To the sweet guest who reviewed Chapter Six, Zoro and Lithium have not given up on trying to tell people, they just got distracted by other things. For Lith, it was her past coming up. For Zoro...well, Lithium herself is the distraction._

* * *

Zoro has lost track of how many times he started cursing while training that evening. While to a degree, his training was second nature, he still needed to count the repetitions. He was failing miserably at that. His mind was still trying to wrap around the strange little roommate of his, making even basic tasks difficult.

The day the crew had heard of her past, there had been only some last-minute shopping done before they had set off for Sea Angel Island. They were a week into travel and Lithium had fallen easily into the crew's routine, though the fact that she took two night watch shifts did mess with some sleep schedules.

It only made sense though, since she did have near-perfect night vision. She took the darkest hours when anyone else needed a lamp just to see their hands in front of their faces on starless nights.

During the day, she busied herself readying her new little brew station Franky built for her the first day out, or entertaining Luffy with various bizarre shifts. He found himself watching the spectacle rather than napping more often than not. On the sunnier days, she would often curl up not far from him and catch a nap herself, but it was not like she was everywhere he was though.

That did not help his issue. Even when they were not in the same part of the ship, his mind kept coming back to her. He did not have time for distractions. He had goals in life and if he did not have his wits about him, there seemed to be no way he would achieve them.

But the fact that she was incredibly generous with her time and alcohol made her difficult to ignore. There was not a job on the ship she had not assisted with in the week. She even gave over her personal stock to him. If he had been more like the love-drunk cook, he would have proposed for real right there.

It also did not help that his near-daily arguments with said cook revolved around Lithium. The idiot was convinced that in one way or another he was treating her badly and had to be told off about it.

If it were not for the fact that Sanji's accusations were always of a perverted nature, it would be easier to let it slide. It still sounded like an attack on his honor. He would never dream of doing something against her will.

Not that he had not had some thoughts of a sexual nature toward her. They were hard to avoid when he woke up every morning with the cute woman snuggled up to him, wearing only a large teeshirt and underwear.

Most of the time he was the surprised little spoon when he woke up for his watch shift. This morning though, he woke up with her head tucked under his chin, his arms around her, her leg resting over his hip.

He did not know how it happened, but he was more than willing to linger there a little while, maybe pull her a little closer. That was until he remembered what morning usually did to a certain part of his anatomy when it brushed against her leg.

He could not have jumped from bed any faster if it had been on fire.

The rest of the day he was a distracted mess, though he doubted it showed to anyone but possibly the eerily observant archeologist. Even his usual naps were filled with images of her peaceful sleeping face and the soft warmth of her in his arms.

 _The hell is my problem? I really need to get one of the others to understand what actually happened and soon...or else I may actually fall for her..._

Zoro nearly dropped the weights he was using when he sensed another presence in the crow's nest with him. It jarred him from his thoughts and he looked up sharply, regaining his grip on the massive weights.

"Ah, Zoro, did I startle you?"

Lithium stood by the ladder, her head tilted quizzically to the side. Unlike earlier, she was in a loose pair of shorts, a worn green teeshirt and was barefoot.

 _Dammit...she's cute like this..._

"A little." He smiled a little, and set the weights down. "You're early for your watch."

She stared at her toes, her ears drooping a little. A week watching her had taught him this was a sign she was embarrassed or nervous, so long as it the gesture was slight. Otherwise it expressed sadness.

"I was actually wondering if you would spar with me."

He blinked a few times. "You...want to spar...with me?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to..." A slight pink blush bloomed on her cheeks. It was too cute for him to refuse, and he was not sure he was okay with that.

"I'm fine with that." He smiled a little more. "Though if you get hurt, that idiot cook won't let me hear the end of it."

Lithium rolled her eyes with a sigh. "He worries too much. I'm not...what is it he calls me? Ah, a delicate flower. I'm made of tougher stuff than that."

Zoro chuckled, more than a little amused at this. "He didn't see you fight. He's in for a surprise when he does see it."

Despite saying this, he was concerned he would hurt her. He knew she could handle herself against her own enemies, but he also was well aware of what he could do. Yet the idea of learning what strength lay hidden in her was too good to pass up.

"I don't care if I get hurt. I'm just out of practice in combat and I doubt anyone else would be a good fit for a sparring partner." Her jaw was set a little stubbornly as she said this. "Not that I don't think they're strong, but you would benefit the most from it as well...unless I'm wrong..."

 _No fair, woman...you're cute and I'm weak to it..._

"I already said yes, Lithium. You don't have to explain yourself."

Her pink-tinged cheeks went red. "Ah...yeah...sorry..."

Zoro shook his head and leaned down to move the weights back to their place. "Don't worry about it. I haven't sparred without my swords in a while anyway. Should be fun."

That brought a grin to her face. As he walked back to her, he saw her shift into a clearly practiced stance, her weight balanced lightly on the balls of her feet. She broadcasted no other information about what she her first move would be though, already off to a good start in his opinion.

He could feel more than see her eyes looking for tells in him as well, her gaze sharp and intense, her eyes those of a predator.

Quite frankly, he liked it. His rebelling mind pictured that expression looking down on from on top of him before he could stop it. He shook his head slightly, bringing his head back into the game, but a beat too late.

In that instant, she all but disappeared, a soft giggle the only indication of where she had ran. She was to his left, his blind side.

Or so he thought as full weight of a speeding fuzzy woman slammed into his right side.

 _Heh...this is going to more than fun!_

Lithium had a huge grin on her face as she dodged another attack from unarmed swordsman. As she thought, he was still formidable without the blades and she was excited about it.

She had not had a decent sparring partner in years, let alone one she was positive could beat her. Her blood sung in her veins, not a movement wasted save for the grin.

Even knowing he was going easy on her, did not take away from the thrill of pushing this new speed shift to it's limits. She was faster than Zoro naturally, though his superior strength would no doubt make up for it. This shift, a combination of a particularly fast cat species and Sanji's particularly strong leg musculature, was tipping the scale in her favor at the moment though.

That and the priceless look on Zoro's face when she launched one of the cook's spinning kick attacks at him made it well worth the effort learning the shift. She knew her kick was not nearly as powerful as Sanji's, but it threw off Zoro just enough that she was finally able to knock him over.

It was a small victory, but it was hers, even if it did not last long. In the seconds before he hit the floor, he grabbed a hold of her and rolled, pinning her beneath him, holding her wrists over her head.

"Not bad, Lithium. You almost had me distracted."

She growled softly, a smirk on her lips, despite the wild blush that creeped up from her toes. He was leaning over her, so close his scent filled her head, the scent sweat, steel and man almost enough to shake her concentration.

"That's not my only trick, Roronoa Zoro."

The bit of banter bought her the time she needed. Zoro's face was a mixture of surprise and disgust as her wrists were suddenly considerable thinner and slid from his grip before he could tighten it. Her hips did the same and slipped completely from his control. With flexibility no normal human possessed, she tucked her legs under him, her body bulking out with muscles comparable to his own at the last second as she sent him sprawling away from her.

She flipped to her feet, sending him a fanged smirk as he righted himself as well. She was met with an equal smirk to hers.

"Using my muscles again?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Surprisingly they suit you well. But I know best how to use them."

Lithium knew she was in trouble the moment he seemed to increase his own arm muscles after a similar fashion to her shifting. The only thing that saved her from the punch he threw was her skills in redirecting momentum in her favor.

He did not fall this time, but the stumble she caused, small as it was, bought her time to shift again and lauch herself out of his immediate reach.

"Are you part lizard too, Lith?" The swordsman stared up at her, clinging to the ceiling with shifted gecko pads on her hands and feet.

 _Lith?_

"Who said you could call me that?" She growled, her ears laying back, though not all the way.

"What? Lith?" He quirked an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

She frowned, her initial anger at shortening her name waning when he said it again. It sounded right coming from him. "Ah, well...I don't usually like nicknames...but...I know you mean no disrespect by it..."

He frowned slightly, tilting his head a little. "How would that be disrespectful to you?"

"I was a number, Zoro." She growled a little once more, but there was not much force behind it. "LI-36. I gave myself the name Lithium when I was finally free."

Zoro nodded silently, crossing his arms over his bare chest. He seemed to do that every time her past came up in conversation. After a moment like that, he spoke again.

"You sure I can call you that, then?"

Lithium dropped from the ceiling."Yes. You're kinda the first friend I've had since I was fifteen...and I know you weren't saying it to belittle me..."

She felt her face burn a little at that admission. She had avoided making ties after Shinkiro and it required extenuating circumstances for that to change. It sounded pathetic to her ears.

Zoro grinned, uncrossing his arms. "I wouldn't belittle a woman, who, with training, could probably kick my ass."

She thought her face burst into flames right there at that incredible compliment. "You better not just be saying that to humor me..."

"I wouldn't joke about that." He shook his head. "Though you would need to work at it."

She smiled past the near-painful blush. "We should probably finish this spar then so I can work on that."

Zoro laughed heartily, a surprisingly warm sound. "So you want to kick my ass then?"

She giggled. "Only a little."

When Usopp climbed up into the crow's nest to take his turn at watch, their spar ended with Zoro pinning her again.

The sniper shook his head. "Ya' couldn't wait until your watch was done at least?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey there everyone! Welcome again to the new readers -hugs and internet cookies-_

 _I also wanted to say that I have another fanfiction in the works right now, featuring Sanji in a modern/college/soulmate AU (complicated I know...). I hope you all will take a peek at that one was well when I have it up. Toodles!_

* * *

Zoro was no stranger to feelings of frustration and anger. He felt it every time he fell short on his goals, but he always used them as motivation to keep going. It had been working well for him for years. This time though, he had no idea how to redirect it. He followed the trio of nakama walking before him, Chopper on his shoulder, feeling the negative emotions only building in him as he watched the three laughing as they walked.

How did he deal with anger and frustration when they were about her?

Lithium walked between Usopp and Sanji, telling them about the time she knocked Shinkiro's oldest son in to a vat of failed sake for calling her cute. They were laughing at the story and he could not entirely blame them for it. She had told him that one before. She had only been five at the time and did not understand the concept of cute. Convinced he was insulting her, she had punched the kid in the face so hard he fell backward into the foul-smelling vat. He had laughed pretty hard about it himself.

Not to mention the animated, lively story-telling style she had made her impossible to ignore, even shifted into a disguise as she was. It was a simple shift, considering some of the ones he had seen her do now that she let him see her combat shift practice. She had given herself a pale human skin tone, little human ears and dark brown hair but otherwise she was recognizable by him.

He watched her as she made sweeping gestures with her arms, pitching her already gravely voice lower when she imitated Shinkiro's hilarious mix of anger and amusement upon finding his son neck deep in rotten sake. The other men were laughing and she sent them a bright smile for it.

It pissed him off to no end to see her smile like that at them and he was not sure why. It's not like she really was his wife or anything remotely like that.

They had arrived at their first stop on the way to Sea Angel Island, a small island known for it's thriving import and export business. Lithium had actually been here before on another ship who was using it as a stop on another route. She had invited him to go to the market district with her and he had declined, wanting to take a nap while the others were out. She had looked disappointed enough he almost retracted his decision. Those ears drooping did him in every time.

Before he could tell her he would go with here though, she invited Usopp to go with her instead, telling him about the incredible art supply vendor in the market. Zoro found himself on his feet immediately when the other man agreed. Chopper joined him, asking something but he did not hear it because the cook had invited himself to go along with them as well. He simply put Chopper on he shoulders and followed the trio without a word.

He had been silently fuming ever since then.

Zoro felt a tap on his head and finally clued into the little doctor on his shoulders. "Oi, what is it?"

Chopper's tone sounded nearly as frustrated as he felt. "I've been talking to you for ten minutes and you're not listening to me. What's your deal?"

"It's nothing."

Chopper shook his head. "You've been growling since we left the Sunny."

Before he could answer with another dismissal of something being wrong, Lithium grabbed Usopp's wrist and dragged him to a store a few feet away. "This is it! You're gonna' love it! Not just art supplies but practically anything creative you can think of!"

Usopp let her drag him into the store, shaking his head a little at her overwhelming enthusiasm and steady stream of chatter about the store's wares.

It took considerable effort on Zoro's part not to clench his fists, so much he missed the cook hanging back to fall in step with him, until Chopper said something to him.

"Sanji, he's all grumpy and won't tell me why."

Sanji took one look at him and laughed. "Are you trying to kill random passers-by with that glare, marimo?"

Zoro growled again, a little louder this time. "Shut up, shit cook. It's none of your business, you shameless flirt!"

"He must of woke up on the wrong side of the bed." He arched his visible curled eyebrow at him, a questioning expression on his face of fleeting moment. "Or did you get kicked out of bed for being too much a muscle-bound idiot?"

Chopper, his relative naivety showing, tilted his head. "But Lithium likes his muscles. She draws them all the time when she thinks no one else is looking. Or is it the idiot part that would get him kicked out?"

Zoro schooled his expression into something resembling calm as they entered the store. He was even more pissed but determined not to let Lithium see it. The shit cook could laugh all he wanted, but at this point, he knew she would worry. She had proven eerily perceptive to mood shifts in the crew members, no doubt from her eye for detail and animal-like senses. Whenever someone was upset, she was there in seconds, trying to cheer them up or help fix the situation.

She would ask and there was no good way he could think of to tell her that seeing her being so friendly to the other men made him want to knock them into next year. Not without starting a conversation he was not ready to have. He knew he found her cute. He knew he enjoyed spending time with her. He even liked waking up next to her. Yet he still did not want to give this a name yet.

He found a spot along a wall in the store and leaned against it after setting Chopper down to look around. He could see down all the aisles of the store from where he stood, realizing in a few moments that he had next to no idea what half the items were here. It did not take him long to find Lithium again as she finished telling Usopp what was down each aisle.

She then walked with purpose to an aisle full of pencils as near as he could tell. Usopp followed her, looking at a display farther down the aisle from her. He watched her examine some richly colored pencils, staring at the ends of them for reason he did not know. She rejected some of them and held on to others, continuing to do this until Sanji approached her, touching her shoulder so as not to startle her.

Zoro snorted with laughter a little. The cook had learned the hard way that startling Lithium was something to avoid. Either she panicked or she threw things. Sanji had a ladle thrown at his head enough times to do just that. His laughter was short-lived though, when he saw her wince away from him. He sighed, remembering that she had landed on the shoulder pretty hard during their last sparring session. She had one hell of bruise on the shoulder. He knew he was going to hear about this later.

He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but he observed their conversation anyway. As much as it grated on him, Sanji looked genuinely concerned about her, as well as angry. Lithium rolled her eyes at him though, her ears going back a bit. He knew that expression since she wore it every time she thought Sanji was being overprotective of her. She kept picking pencils, answering with obvious irritation.

When Sanji grabbed both her arms, speaking to her more forcefully, Zoro pushed himself off the wall and stalked toward them, his patience worn to nothing. Lithium had her ears back as she spat a retort at him.

Zoro stopped in his tracks as Sanji hit the ground, his nose spurting blood all over existence.

* * *

Lithium just wanted to pick her colored pencils in peace. She glared at Sanji out of the corner of her eye as she selected a light blue pencil, checking to see if the pigment was centered and that the pencil itself was straight.

"Lithium-chan, seriously, if he is being hard on you, you can tell me."

His face expression real concern for her. She did not want to be harsh with him, but she had just started improving her mood by picking lovely colors for a drawing project she had planned. Finding colors to properly draw her new nakama was soothing. Telling Sanji repeatedly that Zoro was not hurting her was the exact opposite of that.

After the first sparring session with Zoro, she had to admit to herself she was attracted to him. Not just in a passing, 'oh hey there!' sort of way, but more so that she could not stop thinking about him. She looked forward to their near-daily sparring sessions, just so she had an excuse to touch him, something she had avoided so as not to make things awkward.

She had to keep it to herself though, especially after waking up before Zoro did when it was time for her watch. He usually woke her since she was still new to the schedule but she had successfully woke herself on time, only to find herself spooning him in her sleep. She hoped this was not a regular occurrence, since he had not said anything about it. It was weird enough that they still slept in the same bed. Surely if he knew, that would end and that was not at all what she wanted.

When they reached this island, Lithium was hoping to spend some time with Zoro without Sanji glaring at them from across the ship. She understood that Sanji was worried about her, even if it was entirely misplaced. Zoro had told her the jist of Sanji's issue with him when it came to her and while it was sweet, he really needed to stop worrying over her.

Zoro had never done anything that came close to harming her, even when they sparred. He seemed to instinctively know how much to pull his attacks so they stung but never left any long-term damage. Any major bruising or scrapes on her had been sadly self-inflicted. Sometimes between shifts she would lose her balance, which is why she was practicing in the first place.

As for any other objections the cook may have had, she wondered how he could have known Zoro so long and not realized he was a gentleman under the gruff exterior. If Zoro had meant to take advantage of her, he had plenty of opportunities to do so. He had not. Even when she was changing, he never peeked on her. She knew this because while he turned around, she faced him, just to make sure. She did not have enough digits to count how many times he helped her down from the crow's nest when she hurt herself during training or was simply too tired to climb down.

Because she knew differently, this line of questioning Sanji was on was particularly irritating to her. "There's nothing to tell, Sanji. I'm fine, that's just a sparring injury."

"But he shouldn't let you be hurt like that. Why are you even sparring with him? Do you know how dangerous he is?" He touched the bruise on her shoulder again, much gentler this time. Though she had it hidden with her skin tone shift, he remembered where it was surprisingly well.

Lithium sighed and pulled an orange-red pencil from the shelf, perfect for the base color of Nami's hair. "I am aware of how strong he is, but I need a sparring partner. I get rusty if I don't practice with someone. And I can learn a lot from Zoro."

Sanji frowned deeply, looking her in the eye. "It's not just that. What about when you two are alone? He's not being rough with you in that way, is he?"

He grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him. "I heard you tell him no, Lithium-chan. Just say the word and I will destroy him for being too rough with you!"

Lithium laid her ears back, glaring at him, her frustration boiling over. "Well have you ever thought that I might like it rough?"

Sanji's eyes grew enormous before he fell backward, propelled by an explosive nosebleed, making a loud thunk as he hit the floor. Lithium stood there in shock before dropping to her knees. She pressed the sleeve of her sweatshirt to his nose to stop the bleeding as she heard Usopp yell from behind her.

"Chopper, Sanji did it again!"

Lithium looked up from the bleeding cook to see a terrified expression on the shopkeeper's face as she stood behind the counter. She sent her a sympathetic expression. "Don't worry, ma'am, we have a doctor with us and I'll see about cleaning up the mess."

The shopkeeper just nodded slowly and sat back on the stool she had behind the counter, looking a little ill. Once Chopper ran over to tending the now-passed out man, Lithium shed her sweatshirt and wiped up the blood that splattered on the floor. Only then did she see Zoro standing there, a deep-set scowl on his face. He stalked over to her, taking her soaked shirt from her.

"You're a mess, Lith." His tone was no-nonsense, his expression devoid of its usual underlying warmth. "You should head back to the ship. You can come back for your pencils."

He turned to Usopp, his face still incredibly serious. "Oi, walk back with her. I'll take care of the idiot when Chopper is done."

The shopkeeper sighed softly, seemingly glad to see them leave after the blood fountain. "You can leave the pencils you already picked on the counter for when you come back, dear."

Lithium wordlessly put the pencils on the counter and followed Usopp from the shop. He said nothing as they walked and she was grateful for it, in no mood for idle chatter. Her day was pretty much shot at this point. It was bad enough Zoro had gone on the trip reluctantly, but now he seemed to be silently seething.

She prayed to anyone who would listen that his anger was not directed at her.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello again lovelies! As usual, welcome new readers and thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter ^^_

* * *

Trying to ease the nervous energy of the young reindeer walking a few steps ahead of him was the only thing preventing Zoro from growling the whole way back to the Sunny. Furious as he was at the cook slung over his shoulder, his concern for Chopper was more important. It was not often that Zoro was genuinely angry. Sure he would get pissed off at Sanji for making stupid comments about his hair and whatnot, but true anger was rare.

He knew he was feeling it though. He clenched his free hand as the image of Sanji grabbing Lithium's shoulders and whirling her around to face him played through his mind. He did not know what she had said before the massive nosebleed, but it did not help the cook's case in Zoro's mind. He respected the man, sometimes begrudgingly, but when it came to women, his lack of control was deplorable.

 _I don't care that he was worried about her...he went too far, grabbing her like that..._

Zoro stifled the growl that tried to rise from the center of his frustration, again for the sake of the tiny doctor leading him back to the ship. It did not take a genius to figure out what it meant when Sanji nearly died from blood loss with regards to women. Zoro found the shameless flirting and clearly perverted thoughts unnecessary, counter-productive even, if the cook truly wanted to find a woman.

Directed at Lithium though, they were practically a declaration of war.

 _As far as the idiot knows, she's my wife...what the hell did he conjure up in that depraved mind of his that caused...that...?_

Only the change Chopper and his footsteps told him they were now on the Sunny. He realized Chopper had been leading him by the pant leg. Normally he would have thought that unneeded, but his mind was far too chaotic for him to reliably make his way back. He would have to remember to thank him once he had dealt with this mess.

Usopp approached them as he followed Chopper to the infirmary, not waiting for any prompting. "Lithium is cleaning up. She seems upset and confused."

Zoro nodded, silently debating if it was worth shifting his trajectory so Sanji did not hit the door frame on the way in. Despite his feelings on the matter, he got the unconscious man through the door without adding head trauma to his list of ailments. "Thank you. I'll explain things to her later."

As he walked away, Zoro noticed the grimace on Usopp's face, a face that said he expected to be helping Franky fix some structural damage to the Sunny before the day was over. He sighed at this, knowing full well it was a reasonable concern for him to have. For Lithium's sake though, Zoro was going to do his best to deal with this with words. The few times she witnessed the fights between himself and Sanji, she was fretting for hours about causing so much trouble for him. She would blame herself and if luck would have it, she was probably doing that same thing right now.

Just one more reason he was royally pissed off at the cook for this.

He roughly dropped Sanji to the examination table, then stepped back so Chopper could finish taking care of him. He leaned against the wall, still trying to calm the killing intent he was sure he radiated by now. It was not necessary, at least not yet.

Chopper busied himself hooking up Sanji to the IV. He had not lost as much blood as the last time his nose bleed had been explosive, but it was apparently enough to warrant giving him more. Zoro was not about to argue this, and quite frankly wanted him reasonably functional. The idea of yelling at a half-dazed man, pervert though he may be, that did not settle well with his swordsman honor.

Several hours and much pacing the floor later, Sanji had come to enough Zoro was ready to have it out with him. "Care to explain yourself, shit cook?"

Sanji narrowed his eyes, clearly not expecting this sort of greeting after being unconscious. "And...why should I, marimo?"

"Lithium did not want you bothering her like that. Why didn't you take the hint?" Zoro pushed himself off the wall and approached him as Sanji swung his legs off the examination table and glared at him.

"You're way too hard on her and she's too kind and soft to admit it! Why the hell do you have her sparring with you anyway? Is she not strong enough for you and you have to push her to the point she can't make it down the ladder by herself?"

"She asked me to spar with her!" Zoro met his glare. " Why the hell should I say no?"

"Because you could hurt her!" Sanji surged to his feet. "Do you get some sick thrill out of kicking a woman's ass?"

Zoro growled, stepping forward again. "Hell no, that ass is too cute to kick."

They both paused a moment, but Zoro was not about to one slip-up stop him. "Seriously though, what the hell kind of man do you think I am? I know I can hurt her! I do my damnedest to make sure that doesn't happen!'

"So why do you still spar with her in the first place?" He grabbed Zoro's collar. "Why do you let her put herself in danger? Why the hell do you force yourself on her? Do you have no respect for her?"

"She asked me to spar with her because she didn't think anyone else could handle it! And I dare you to say no when she asks you for something! If I can't do it, you sure as hell can't!" Zoro brushed his hand away. "She is never in danger with me. I have never done anything against her will! You really think I would do that? Do you really think I'm a bastard who would do that?"

Sanji paused, his eyes narrowed again. "How many bruises does she have because of you? Has she bled because you weren't careful?"

Zoro glowered, beginning to feel the insult again. "You don't understand. I know she's been hurt, I know it's my fault but she's a beast. You haven't seen her."

Sanji snarled at little. "How could you say that about her? You of all people should know she self-conscious about that!"

"Of course I know that, bastard, that's not what I meant!" Zoro grabbed his lapels this time, snarling in his face. "She's adorable but she's also stronger than you think! She's smart as hell on top of that! For every bruise she had, she gave me at least one in return! Why is this such a big deal that you even bother her over this?"

"BECAUSE I CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW SUCH A SWEET WOMAN COULD BE WITH YOU!" Sanji's snarl became a mixture of confusion and something Zoro could not figure out. "IT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE!"

Zoro let go of his lapels, pushing him backward with the motion. "It's not like I understand that either! But she is and I won't let anything happen to her, got it?!"

Sanji had another expression Zoro was unsure how to read, but said nothing before lighting a new cigarette and taking a long drag. "I'll hold you to that."

* * *

Lithium sunk deeper into the large bathtub, only her eyes and nose above the water. She had been in the steaming water for a couple hours and her skin was starting to prune. She let her toes, four white, six gray, break the surface and wiggled them. Nami was not making it up when she said the main bath was wonderful. As wonderful as it was though, it was not enough to completely chase away the heavy feeling in her chest.

 _Why...why the heck did that trip go completely wrong?_

She had not truly understood how much blood was actually on her until she looked in the mirror. The weird looks people gave her as she followed Usopp through town made that much more sense. She looked like someone exploded next to her.

 _Well...I guess Sanji kinda' did...I only said that to throw him off... I didn't mean cause...that...whatever it was..._

She pulled her toes back under the water with a deep sigh. She felt her face flush a deeper red as her mind wandered from the awkward scene to her desperation tactic.

 _...I don't even know if I like it rough...I wouldn't mind finding out..._

Perfectly honed muscles under skin tanned from the harsh sun of the open ocean slipped into her mind. She had been grappled by the owner of that spectacular anatomy enough times she could practicallyfeel what it might be like finding out.

"Sweet sake, woman...get your mind out of Zoro's pants...You've caused enough trouble for one day...not like he'd want me in there..."

She heaved another heavy sigh, staring at her claws as something to get her mind off her dilemma. She should have known it wouldn't be enough, but she tried anyway. Not even going through her aquatic shifts worked like they usually did. They required greater focus from her, as gills and gas bladders were not the easiest things to develop. But Zoro was stronger than her concentration.

 _Why? Why why whywhywhy? Why...why am I falling for Zoro?..._

If she really thought about it, she knew why. Besides the man being beyond easy on the eyes, he was incredibly kind. She had realized in the week and half she had spent with the crew that most of them were unaware of this side of Zoro. As far as she could tell, only Chopper and Robin truly understood this. Chopper had been on the receiving end of his kindness often, while Robin had witnessed it, though she promised him she would not tell anyone what she saw. Lithium was curious but respected that promise.

She did not need any stories to prove it to her. She had received so much of that kindness, it was hard not to feel something beyond the normal affection nakama would have for one another. Not when he tucked her carefully when he thought she had fallen asleep before he left for watch. Not when he hesitated just long enough to make sure she was alright every time he hit her when they were sparring, to the point she started to feel bad every time she took advantage of that. Not when he still let her sleep next to him despite the fact that she was blanket hog. They were little things but they meant the world to someone who was used to being on her own.

Lithium tried to stifle the yawn her sudden drowsiness brought with it. She stood and shook off the beads of water on the fur line down her back. It repelled water, unlike the rest of her which was waterlogged. She wrapped up in one of the fluffy towels Nami had given her for her own use. Apparently the navigator bought premium linens for herself and Robin and was not about to have a fellow woman miss out on their softness. She was grateful for that now.

Once dry, she threw on some clean clothes and wandered back to the room, humming a song Brook had taught her earlier in the week. She opened the door, thinking about how glad she was to smell like lavender soap than the metallic scent of Sanji's blood.

Her humming stopped, all thoughts of scents forced from her mind at the scene before her.

Burning orange light filtered through the sheer curtain of their bedroom window, highlighting every dip between his powerful muscles. Her eyes automatically followed the line of his scar down his chest. She had seen him shirtless plenty of times, that was nothing new.

That the bare flesh did not stop abruptly at his green haramaki or his waistband was entirely new and her eyes were more than happy sliding down him. He stood at an angle to her, so there was very little of him she could not see.

 _Saints preserve me in alcohol...he's...he's...hot damn...I'm seeing EVERYTHING!_

Lithium realized she was on the verge of hyperventilating when he looked up to find where he put his pants and saw her there, staring at him with eyes as wide as they would go. His eyes grew wide as well, their deep indigo hue standing out in the orange-tinted light.

She slapped her hands over her eyes, words tumbling from her. "Dear sweet sake, I'm sorry! Oh lord, I didn't mean to...aghhh...I even saw the man-dongle!...I'm so sorry!"

There was silence from the naked man, save for the sound of the bed creaking. She perked through her fingers as he finally made a sound.

Zoro was doubled over the edge of the bed, laughing his ass off. "Man-dongle? Really...the hell is that Lith?"

Her face was already burning with a wild blush, this only made it worse. "I don't know! I just said it!"

She turned and landed herself face first in the loveseat. "I'll be here until you're done being...being...without apparel..."

He did not stop laughing the entire time he was dressing, muttering to himself between bursts of laughter. The laughs kept even her sensitive ears from understanding all he said.

 _Seems too much to hope that he really did just say that I was cute as hell..._


	10. Chapter 10

_Hey there everyone! This chapter ran away from me, but I rather like it. It took forever though, so sorry! Also be warned that a tiny bit of Frobin shows up in this. Yes, I ship Mama and Papa Strawhat..._

 _If you're interested in a clearer idea of what Lithium looks like, you can go to lithiumsketchbook. tumblr. com (obviously without the spaces)_ _I do warn you though, there is NSFW on this blog, a little blood and quite a bit of nudity and smut, because I have no shame when it comes to ZoLith ._

* * *

Zoro had not laughed so hard in a long time, still chuckling as he pulled a clean shirt over his head. He glanced over at Lithium, still face-first in the couch, and froze, his shirt still half-way off. He gulped, slowly easing the shirt over his head the rest of the way.

Lithium was wearing her usual worn nightshirt, but it was not exactly where it was supposed to be. It had been a while since he saw that first eyeful of Lithium's underwear, but this peek was far more remarkable. She shifted a little, revealing even more dual-toned leg and cute little butt covered in soft black and teal striped fabric. Were it not for his practiced self-restraint, the temptation to grab that ass would have be overwhelming.

 _Sharing a room with her is really getting to me...but dammit...she's adorable..._

He shook his head and walked over to the couch, jamming his hands into his pockets to keep them busy. "Oi, Lith, you can surface again. I'm clothed."

She turned her head, one blue eye glowing softly at him. It seemed to him she did not entirely trust his word on this, but he did not mind her being overly cautious. They had both managed to keep things modest between them, aside from the occasional wandering teeshirt moments at night and she seemed to want to keep it that way.

While he managed to keep the blush from face, he could feel his ears burning as the last time her teeshirt had wandered in her sleep.

 _Damn her boobs were pale..._

He shook his head again, though the image did not entirely leave his mind. He flopped down on the couch next to her. "Really, I promise, my pants and shirt are where they should be in public."

Lithium sat up, curling her legs under her, sitting backward on the cushion. He tried not to be disappointed as his previous nice view disappeared under her, but her embarrassed smile was a good distraction from it.

"Sorry...I should have knocked before coming in..."

Zoro shook his head. "Nah, don't worry about it. It was an honest mistake, bound to happen eventually."

 _She's more embarrassed than I am and I was the naked one...don't tell me I'm the first naked man she's seen..._

He sent her what he hoped would be a reassuring smile. She smiled back at him, her cheeks the softest pink, her ears curling up from their apologetic drooping to their happiest position. Her nose wrinkled a little with her smile. She shifted on the couch so she sat down normally, her shoulder brushing his, silvery strands of hair trailing along his arm as she settled in.

 _Actually...I hope I am the only one..._

Lithium kicked her legs like a little kid. The couch was just tall enough that her feet did not reach the floor. Zoro was convinced in that moment she was the cutest thing he had seen in a long time. With that admission came a slew of related thoughts, but they had to wait because her nose-wrinkling smile faded.

"Is Sanji okay?"

Zoro bristled a little at the mention of the cook, but since they had hashed things out earlier, he relaxed. She was only asking out of concern because she was a kind person.

 _I really need to get a handle on my...whatever this is...or she's going to think I'm mad at her..._

"The idiot is fine. This has happened before."

Lithium tilted her head and frowned, one of her ears twitching upward. "That can't be healthy. I just made a smart-ass comment at him and then...that..."

Zoro ruffled her hair a little. "Not your fault. That happens when he thinks perverted things. You can't stop him from doing that."

She leaned into his hand when his fingers grazed one of her feather-soft ears. He ran his fingers over it again with extreme care, as her already-pink face flushed red when he did it. Only then did it occur to him he might be doing something he should not, and pulled his hand away. This did not stop her face from becoming progressively redder.

"Oi, Lith, ya' okay?" He poked her shoulder with a little more hesitancy than he normally would have had with her.

She looked a little sheepish as she peered at him out of the corner of her eye. "Ah...yeah...you're right...it's not my fault...but I might have made it worse..."

He turned so she could see his good eye better, the eyebrow above it raising. "I doubt you could do anything to make it worse. He's pretty far gone. Tell me what happened."

That blush of hers went from mildly red to crimson in seconds. He wondered for a moment if part of it was how pale some of her skin was that made it seem worse, but was drawn back to her when she made a strange squeaking noise. She covered her face with her hands and nearly wailed.

"I only meant to throw him off! He thinks I'm this innocent little thing, so I thought if said something less so...it would get him to shut up...but not like that!"

Zoro faced away from her, trying not to laugh when she seemed so distressed. Would she be mad if she knew "innocent", and "little" were often in his mind as well when he thought of her? He cleared his throat and put on serious face before turning back to her.

"What happened, Lith?"

She took deep breath and let it out slowly, though he noticed her ears were drooping. Never a good sign with her. "Well...he kept saying you're too rough on me...but he didn't just mean when we spar...like...rough in bed..."

Zoro covered his eyes with one hand, groaning slightly at this. He was not sure where this was going, but if her blush sweeping across the rest of her face was any prediction, she found it pretty damn embarrassing.

"He offered to destroy you if you were being rough on me...that way...I asked him if he ever thought I might like it rough...and then..." She threw her arms up in the air. "POOM! Nose-spolsion!"

Zoro blinked at her a few times before he burst out laughing, even harder than about the whole "man-dongle" thing. "Damn Lith! You destroyed him with one sentence!"

She stared at him, slack-jawed as he laughed himself out, which took longer than he thought because he kept picturing Sanji's brain shutting down completely, unable to handle the sheer amount of perverted images it was trying to conjure up from that one simple sentence. Unable to resist, he ruffled her hair again and asked the first question that had come to mind when she explained the case.

"So do you?"

Her ears took on their usual questioning positions, that expression that deemed her innocent back on her face. "Do I what?"

His tone was entirely teasing but he also could not deny he was curious. "Do you like it rough?"

A throw pillow hit him in the face hard enough he almost fell back over the arm of the couch. How she managed to do that with a pillow was no real surprise considering how hard she had been training with him and on her own. It was how she could make an embarrassed and furious look so cute that had him confused.

"How the hell should I know? Never done it before!" Her ears were even laid back in her frustration as she grabbed the other throw pillow off the floor and smacked him again, though not quite as hard as she held on to it this time.

He grabbed the first pillow and prepared to defend himself. "I hadn't really thought about that! Sorry!"

She leaped off the couch and put her weight into her swing, some of the stuffing coming out of the popped stitches of the pillow seam. "What, are you saying I seem like a loose woman?"

He would have been much more upset she said this as he never thought anything of the sort, were it not for the mischievous grin that was slowly spreading across her face. He nearly knocked her flat with a pillow-smack to the side, more stuffing flying through the air.

"No I mean I didn't want to assume anything until you said it!"

She used her retaliatory swing to right herself, hitting him upside the head again. "Okay then!"

"Why are you still hitting me?"

"Because its fun!"

Zoro felt the smirk spread across his face before he bounded across the room, snatching up the pillows from the bed. He turned back to her, the throw pillow in his mouth.

Lithium's eyes lit up as she slapped a hand over her mouth. Her giggles escaped anyway. "Three Pillow Style, eh?"

"Damn right, woman. If you want a pillow fight, you've got one!"

"Bring it on Marimo!" Her grin was cheeky, knowing full well what she did in calling him that.

Stuffing flew everywhere as they leaped around the little room, unrelenting in their playful attacks. While he was able to compensate for how agile she was, he had recently learned the full extent of her flexibility when he assisted Franky and her with some ship maintenance. Not only could she bend herself into impossible positions, but she was fully functional in them. She was using this ability now, tumbling over the furniture with fluid grace, sliding in and out of the shafts of pink sunlight softly accenting the room.

To say he was distracted by shapes her body took on as she moved was gross understatement.

She took a flying leap, smacking him upside the head as she flew past, landing nimbly on the mattress. The last of the stuffing in her pillow spilled over him as he whirled around. She tossed away the decimated throw pillow, looking around for another one, chest heaving from effort she was putting into the fight.

Zoro dropped the pillows and tackled her to the bed, holding her wrists to the side but gently. He was kneeling between her legs before he knew it, looking into her eyes, soft blue and wide in surprise. His hands drifted to her ears, stroking the edges with his thumbs. He watched the flush of exertion on her cheeks deepened into a true blush. She made the smallest, softest sound he could have imagined, one ear moving against his hand in a silent question.

There was only the briefest moment of worry that she would be upset when he pressed his lips to hers, but it dissolved the moment he felt her arms around his neck, the soft pressure as she kissed him back. He felt a growl rise up in him as her body arched up toward his, and he was more than happy to help close the gap between them.

His growl rumbled out when he felt her legs wrap around his waist. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, demanding more than asking entrence but receiving it without hesitation. Her felt her growl against his body, only hearing it when the vibration reached her mouth. He wrapped his arms under her, pulling her off the bed while still keeping her body flush with his. He leaned back against the headboard, settling her on his lap with a groan.

Zoro knew he was hard. Given the circumstances, it seemed impossible he would not be. He had not realized just how hard he was, too focused on the softness of skin under his calloused hands as he slid them up her back under the worn cotton fabric, the light scent of lavender that clung to her skin after she had bathed, the taste of her brew still on her lips and tongue from an earlier drink before she cleaned up herself. Placing her on it made it plain and lest he forget to quickly, he was reminded when she pressed closer to him.

He moaned against her lips, worry creeping back up on him that his sounds would make her uncomfortable. His concern seemed unneeded yet again as her teeth caught his lip with another more confident growl, her fingers twining in his hair. He trailed his hands down her back, gripping her hips, hooking one thumb under the band of her underwear.

The suddenness with which she pushed herself away and was out the door left him stunned. Zoro sat there where he was, the swollen feeling of his lips and one hell of a hard on the only evidence of what had just happened.

"Dammit..."

* * *

Several minutes earlier:

Sanji stood in the kitchen, finishing the prep work for dinner with a strained look on his face. He whispered to the pots around him, as crashing sounds and giggling could be heard from Zoro and Lithium's room. "She really does like it rough..."

* * *

Lithium fled the room, her heart pounding so hard in her chest, she swore everyone on board would hear it. She did not know where she was headed, but her feet seemed to know the direction they were headed so she followed them. She found herself in front of the door of Franky's workshop. She knocked on the door, not just out of politeness, but that more than once she had seen Robin go down there and not come back for a while. Given what had her freaking out already, she did not want to walk in on anything.

She figured the cyborg man at least would be in there, finishing up his work in there for the day before dinner. It had not taken long for Lithium to make the repair duo of Franky and Usopp in to a trio with her ability to crawl into small spaces and see in the dark. Apparently she also took directions very well so Franky called on her often for somethings that were certainly not out of her depth but hard for him to reach. She had formed a fast friendship with him, almost considering him a father-figure, even in such a short time. In her panicked state, it only made sense to come to him.

Franky opened the door with a big grin, knowing it was her because she tended use unusually paced knocks, something he had pointed out to her. "Hey! What brings you here?"

Lithium took a deep breath and let it out slowly before taking a seat in his spare chair when he offered it. "I needed to talk to someone. You said I could talk to you if I had any troubles. So here I am."

Franky sat back down at his drafting table but faced her, watching her curl one leg against her chest with a frown. "What's got ya' down?"

Lithium chewed her lip for a moment before answering a simply as possible. "I kissed Zoro."

She could tell he was suppressing a laugh for her sake. "Lithium, did you forget you're married to him? That's kinda' what you do."

"No but Franky, you see, I've been trying tell anyone who will listen..." She glanced around, looking for any place Luffy might be hiding. Finding no place for the captain pop out of, she continued. "...we aren't married..."

"You're joking right?" Franky's disbelief was evident on his face. "Why did Luffy say you were?"

"Because he overheard the lie I made up to save Zoro from being executed on that stupid island where we met..." She blushed bright red. "Before then...I had only ever saw his wanted poster..."

Franky ran an over-sized hand over his short-cropped hair. "What did he do to get himself nearly executed?"

Lithium pressed her forehead into her knee, talking into her thigh a bit. "Sat his ass down on their Hero's Monument. Lucky for him, they don't execute newlyweds because they don't want to make young widows and dad-less potential kids. So I pretended to be his wife of a very short time, he successfully played along and we got outta' the situation. But Luffy had found Zoro in time to hear the lie. And you know what happened after that..."

She could see the tell-tale signs of Franky becoming overly-emotional over the story and politely closed her eye so he could cry without an audience. She could still hear the thick emotion in his voice, but at least he had not called her an idiot yet. Not that he had ever done that directly, just when she was part of a larger group.

"You two seem to get along well, though, considering you're sorta' stuck."

Lithium sighed. "We agreed to make the best of it...I just...I just didn't know making the best of it included falling for him for real...and then we were just being giant five year olds, beating each other with throw pillows...and it just happened and we were caught up in the moment...but I ran before things got...got too...ya' know..."

She could hear him nodding emphatically, clearly not wanting anymore detail than that. "I can see how that might be a problem."

"I really like him, Franky..." She could feel that ever-present blush only becoming worse. "...but I'm scared to find out what he thinks of me...I don't want to ruin what's already there..."

"Well, I would say if he was a willing participant in this thing that just happened, there's a decent chance he feels the same way." The sound of rustling papers and a few pencils shifting around the cup he kept them in reached her ears. " But you would have to ask him about it. We are all stubborn here and Zoro no exception."

He held out a few blank pieces of paper and pencil to her. "Why don't you find a quiet corner and draw until dinner. Don't think about it for a bit."

Lithium opened her eye and accepted the drawing supplies with a grateful smile. "Thanks...I'll do just that."

She left with a small wave and eased nerves. The only think that seemed strange to her was that she had managed to say something without Luffy blinking into existence right there and interrupting her. It was a load off her chest though and maybe if Franky knew, the others would listen to him better than they had Zoro or her.

No one was in the aquarium bar, so she made herself at home there, settling in the draw the one thing burned into her mind. She would worry about how to hide nude Zoro sketches later.

* * *

Robin unfolded herself from behind a particularly large piece of scrap metal in the pile Franky kept in his workshop. She strode gracefully over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, her chuckle soft and light.

Franky leaned his cheek on her arm. "Well, you were right, not that I doubted that. So what do we do now?"

Robin kissed his cheek. "We keep acting like we have no idea to the rest of the crew, of course. But we also keep working on bringing those two together. They're good for each other."

Franky chuckled. "Brilliant and sneaky, as expected."


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey lovelies! It's a shorter chapter this time, but I couldn't push it past where it wanted to be. _ Please enjoy it anyway!_

* * *

Zoro could not recall a more embarrassing moment in his life than this one.

There were plenty of moments he could think of that were embarrassing, not that he liked to admit moment trumped them all. He could not avoid the burning sensation on his face though, as he dealt with his obvious excitement with only the memory of touching Lithium to get him through it. If one's dick could be disappointed, he was certain his was decidedly unsatisfied and he could not blame it.

 _Dammit...dammit...what the hell was I thinking..._

He finished dealing with himself and stared at his hands. The phantom feeling of her skin still lingered on them. He heaved a sigh and stood up.

 _That's right...I wasn't thinking...I...I was operating on instinct...but that's no excuse...I have to apologize..._

He glanced around the room with another sigh. "Guess I could start by cleaning the room...since she keeps it nice all the time..."

Zoro cleaned up the pieces of of pillow stuffing, swearing with every piece he tossed in their woefully small trashcan. He could no longer deny he wanted her, not with what happened. He was not a particularly affectionate person, but all he had wanted to do from moment he touched her back that stupid bench monument was touch her again. Their sparring matches had done a great deal to ease that desire without causing issues, but now he was not sure that would be enough.

 _But it has to be...I'm not going to force this...she's had enough people trying to impose their will on her..._ even...even if she did kiss me back...

He shook his head, throwing the stuffing in the general direction of the over-flowing trash can. Even if she had, he was the insistent one. He started it by tackling her in the first place. He kissed her, not the other way around. He could not be sure she did not just get swept up in his enthusiasm. She said she had no experience in this after all. Maybe he overwhelmed her completely and she did not know better than to just go with it until he was too close to certain parts of her.

 _And I was so close to touching that cute little ass...Dammit..._

Zoro kicked the trash can with a growl. This was not the time to be thinking about that. It was the exact opposite of trying to figure out a way to apologize, aside from picking up the stuffing. Other than that, all he had was words, which did not seem enough. He was becoming more certain he was out of his depth. Every way he thought to start the conversation seem hollow and forced.

But it was all he had.

He wanted her, but he wanted her to feel the same. _Isn't that how this is supposed to work?_

Zoro gave the room one last look, satisfied that it looked as good as she had left it after breakfast, and headed for the door. He swung it open and nearly ran into Robin, who held her hand up to knock, a book in her other hand.

"Ah Zoro, I was just coming to deliver this to Lithium. She was interested in other types of fermentation aside from her brewing." She held out the book. "I thought she was here."

Zoro took the book and left it on the side table by the couch. "Um...no she left a while ago..."

He tried to keep his expression neutral but he should have known it was hopeless when it came to Robin. She was far to smart and observant not to sense something was off.

"Something is troubling you, isn't it?" Robin asked this with a slight tilt of her head, reminding him of Lithium's more dramatic head tilt every time she was confused or curious.

"No, not at all."

Robin shook her head. "Usopp is supposed to be the terrible liar of the crew. Tell me what the problem is. I'll see if I can help you."

Zoro silently admitted defeat and followed Robin to the port side railing. A few small fish leaped from the water as he stared down at the little waves crashing against the dock supports, unable to look Robin in the eye.

"So then, what's troubling you?"

He closed his eye and sighed. There was no use in lying now. "I think I scared Lith away."

Robin raised a slim eyebrow. "How so? I would think by now she's aware of how strong you are."

Zoro shook his head. "Not like that...I kissed her and it got outta' hand..."

"But you are married, that should not problematic." She paused for a second, examining his face. "Or...have you not yet consummated your marriage?"

Zoro looked up from the deep blue surface of the water, his face deadly serious. "There isn't a marriage, Robin. It was a misunderstanding."

Robin's face registered a mild version of what would have been utter shock on anyone else. "How could this be?"

"Back at the island where we picked up Lith, I broke their one stupid law and she saved me from execution by exploiting the one loophole they had."

"You desecrated their Hero's Monument? I read about their laws."

"Yeah...she ran over and pretended to be my wife to get the local law to pardon me." Zoro sighed, looking back to the water. "And wouldn't you know, Luffy overheard it..."

"Naturally our captain would latch onto the very thing you wish he would not." Robin smiled gently, shaking her head. "But am I to understand that despite this misunderstanding, you are attracted to Lithium? Enough so that you even call her by a nickname, when she has even told our cook he's not allowed to call her Lithium-chan?"

Zoro felt his face redden at this, though there was a swell of satisfaction that he was the only one with permission to call her anything but Lithium. " Yeah...yeah I am."

"You need to talk to her, Zoro." Robin put a hand on his shoulder. "You cannot know if she is truly bothered by your rather unexpected affection unless you do."

"It seems pretty clear since she ran."

Robin shook her head. "You cannot be sure. It could have just been a shock, especially if that's never happened before. You may have been her first kiss. Even grown women can become flustered over that."

"Doesn't help she walked in on my dressing before that." Zoro's smile was wry, but it was at least a smile.

Robin chuckled, her hand over her mouth. "Oh dear, did you kiss her when you were like that?"

Zoro took a surprised step away from the rail. "WHAT? NO! SHE WAS LESS CLOTHED THAN ME!"

Robin laughed out right at this. "Oh is that so?"

"No wait, I mean...dammit!"

They both looked up sharply as Lithium darted past them, leaping off the deck. The minute her feet touched the wood of the dock, she seemed to disappear, only her deep growl left as a sign of her passing.

Zoro lept after her, following the sounds of her footsteps she did not bother to soften, and the slipstream of killing intent in the air.

* * *

They had only had a five-minute head start, so the amount of wreckage was impressive to Sanji, even though he knew Zoro was involved in causing it. Chopper picked his way around the large chunks of fallen building, sticking close to him. The rest of the crew were looking for survivors in the ruined buildings. They had chased after Lithium and Zoro as soon as Robin called them from the deck. She had not known why they ran off, only that Zoro was chasing after Lithium and she was afraid he would get lost trying to find her.

The explosions and falling buildings near the marketplace hastened their pursuit of them.

Chopper stopped to scent the air, but he was struggling with the scent of blood in the air from numerous men in strange marine uniforms. They were torn to pieces, not by Zoro's clean methodical slashes, but by rough gouges ripped through them.

 _Could Lithium-chan have done this to them? It doesn't seem possible..._

Chopper examine one of the soldiers, his nose twitching slightly as he checked the wounds. "They have a weird smell...something from a plant I don't know..."

Sanji looked at the soldier, frowning at the wounds on the man's neck. It looked like his throat had been ripped out. "Lithium-chan did say Sea Angel Island has a peculiar smell..."

 _Shit...don't tell me she did this too..._

Chopper's ears went up, catching the sound Sanji could just barely hear. "It's Zoro..."

The doctor started running without another moment's hesitation. "He's yelling for Lithium to wake up, hurry!"

Sanji ran after Chopper, scooping him up and putting him on his shoulders. There was no time for transformations and he could jump over the broken building far better. For Lithium's sake, they had to find them as soon as possible.

Zoro had his back to them when they found them among the rubble of what used to be the art supply store, based on the splatters of paint among the broken timber. He was still talking to her, desperation clear in his voice. It stopped Sanji in his tracks. He had never heard that tone from Zoro before, nothing so broken.

Chopper hopped down, thinking Sanji meant to stop. "Zoro! What happened to her?"

Zoro turned to them, his expression as startling as his voice. Blood ran down his face from a large head wound, but that did not surprise Sanji as much as the tracks of tears he had shed before they arrived. They were gone now, but it was unmistakable that they had been there.

"I don't know...they dropped several buildings on us...I think I was out for a while...after pushing her out of the way of the last one..."

 _What in the hell happened here?_

Chopper began examining Lithium's wounds, motioning for Zoro to set her down. His reluctance was obvious, but Chopper gently insisted, and asked him to step back. Sanji knew the swordsman was truly a mess when he let him pull him away so Chopper had room to work. It was not long though, before Chopper looked up sharply, his face grim.

"We have to get her back to the ship, quickly but gently. I don't have everything I need to operate on her, just my regular kit. We have to keep pressure on her wounds."

Zoro pulled his arm from Sanji's grasp and dropped his jacket to the ground. "Will that help?"

Chopper nodded, and Zoro lifted her with extreme care, settling her in the middle of it. The tiny doctor wrapped her and Zoro lifted her again, walking toward the ship, for once walking in exactly the right direction.


	12. Chapter 12

_Hello again, dear readers! Welcome new readers, I'm glad you dropped in! Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter. It was a bit a doozy emotionally to write so I appreciate the time spent._

 _Side note: My SanLith AU fic has been up for a bit but I forgot to mention it here. It's called Softest Blue. I'm only two chapters in, but feel free to check it out._

* * *

Zoro had only allowed himself to leave Lithium's side when Chopper threatened to have Luffy and Sanji drag him from the infirmary so the doctor could operate on her. He wanted to be there for the surgery, but Chopper had a no-nonsense face he had never seen on that reindeer face before now. Chopper also informed him he was under doctor's orders to rest while it happened and put Robin in charge of enforcing that after she finished bandaging his head.

Despite the panic rising up in him, he was a little proud at how intelligently Chopper would deal with someone once he was in his concentrated doctor mode. He still panicked and forgot he was a doctor sometimes, but he was far better about it. Zoro truly appreciated it at this moment, as Robin led him by the elbow from the room.

He glanced back, feeling his heart constrict seeing Lithium on the operating table, looking impossibly tiny and battered. Despite knowing Chopper was more than capable of handling this, and despite how hard it was for him to focus, he had heard the words "internal bleeding" clearly and they terrified him. It was not a common feeling for him and at this moment, with his ability to cope already strained, he was at a loss for how to deal with this. He numbly followed Robin after she bloomed a hand to shut the door behind them.

"She is strong, Zoro." Robin's voice was soft but firm. "She will pull through. She has a most excellent doctor taking care of her. You'll be there the minute you are allowed. You need to rest or else you'll make yourself worse and be of no help to her."

She led him to the dining room and sat him at the table. "Rest here for now. I am going to make sure that Chopper is set to begin. I'll be back shortly to make sure you follow our doctor's orders."

Zoro sat there, staring at the wood grain of the table, tracing it with his finger. There was a sense of lostness welling up in him, a upside-down feeling he could not shake.

 _I promised Luffy I wouldn't lose again...does this count as a loss? But our enemy clearly fled...before the other building dropped...I heard someone say they were taking Lith back...but she's still here...not a loss then..._

He debated trying to leave the dining room, but not only was he sure Robin had some way of knowing if he was still there, he also knew Sanji would enforce Robin's instructions without hesitation. He was too tired to deal with that right now.

He was startled by the plate of onigiri that slid in front of him, at testament to just how tired he actually was at that moment. Sanji looked like he was biting back words he wanted to say, but the gesture itself was kind.

"You had better eat so you're well enough to take care of her when she wakes up, marimo."

Zoro simply nodded and took an onigiri from the plate. He stared at it for a moment, a deep sigh escaping before he took a bite. He chewed for a moment before looking up at Sanji, who was still standing there, glaring down at him but saying nothing. "You can say what you need to say. Don't hold back because I got buried by a bunch of buildings."

Sanji gritted his teeth, but said nothing, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it before sitting across from him at the table. "You said you were going to make sure nothing happened to her."

It took every ounce of willpower Zoro possessed not to flip the entire table over on him, but he knew that was just from frustration. He was thinking much the same. "Believe me...I know I failed her...I also know the minute she wakes up she's going to see my head and be worried about me, despite her internal bleeding, broken leg and possible concussion..."

Sanji's face softened, but Zoro knew he only noticed because he was looking for any change in that stern expression. "I reserve the right to laugh at you about that. So what the hell happened?"

Zoro took another bite of his onigiri to give himself a moment. "Lith ran off because she smelled soldiers from the lab...that was all she managed to say before the first building fell on top of us...I kept the way clear...and let her fight her enemies as she wished..."

Sanji raised an eyebrow at this. "So those men were killed by her?

He nodded, taking another bite before continuing. "All but maybe ten who were crushed...I still don't know what was causing the buildings to fall...I pushed her out of the way of the large apartment building that fell on the art store...that's what buried me...someone in the building owned a piano and I was tangled in wires before I pushed her..."

Sanji pressed his lips together for a moment. "I will laugh about that mental image later as well."

He rumbled a reluctant "thank you" before finishing his onigiri and taking a sip of the water the cook had also brought. "...As I was being buried by rubble...I heard her start to growl...I turned toward her and was hit in the head...I think it was the other half of the piano...but I don't think I was out for long...but just long enough..."

He had been reaching for another onigiri, but he let his hand drop and put his face in the other hand. "I woke up to her bleeding and unconscious...right on top of where I was..."

The cook was silent, taking a long, deliberate drag of his cigarette before looking up from the table to Zoro. "Since when would a falling piano take you down? That sounds suspicious."

"Well, it's what happened!"

Sanji held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "For once I'm not trying to give you hell, Zoro. I'm saying it had to be more than just the piano and the building it was in that took you down."

"Devil fruit user?" Zoro grabbed another onigiri, mostly for something for his hands to be doing so he did not punch the table in half for not thinking of that himself.

"Seems likely." Sanji blew out a puff of smoke and narrowed his eyes. "You think maybe that lab was successful in creating a swimming devil fruit user after Lithium left?"

He nearly crushed the onigiri in his hand. Lithium had talked with him about the possibility and he knew nothing enraged and terrified her more than the prospect of more children going through the horror she and her siblings did.

He came close to praying this was not the case as he sat there, taking angry bite from this onigiri, welcoming the sour taste of the surprise pickled plum since it matched the change in his mood. Had he given in, it would have been the second time today he petitioned some power for help. Holding Lithium's battered body pulled a prayer from him before he knew what was happening.

He figured at this point, it did not hurt, so he pushed it from his mind and answered Sanji. "If they have, they're going to die in painful manner when Lith is done with them..."

Sanji rose from his chair. "It's still hard for me to believe she's capable of that...even though I saw it."

He shook his head and put out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. "Anyway, I'm going to work on some meals that will be easy on Lithium as she recovers. You rest, like Robin-chan told you."

This time there was only sincerity when Zoro thanked him.

* * *

 _Lithium stared up at the sterile vaulted ceiling. Her fingers throbbed with that all too familiar pain of recent breaking. They were stiff, so they must have been splinted before she lay down here. The oppressive scent of the blood palm flowers wafted in the vents, even at this low a level in the compound. They were in bloom early this year since it had been unseasonably warm, even for a summer island._

 _"36? Where are you?"_

 _Her larger ears turned toward the sound of the voice, a voice that always warmed her heart when she heard it. She sat up as the older boy approached her, his face strained. His ears, not unlike hers but sharper and higher on his head, drooped at the sight of her bandaged hands. He dropped to his knees next to her, taking her hands in his._

 _"I'm sorry...they hurt all your fingers...you can't draw now..."_

 _She leaned closer, brushing her head against his charcoal gray and black cheek, purring softly against it. "I'm okay...you got to punch Officer Buttface...I liked watching that..."_

 _"But they broke all your fingers..."_

 _She nuzzled her face into his shoulder. "Watching you cry was worse than that...I wish we could run away from this place, 25..."_

 _He pressed his face into her hair. "Someday..."_

Lithium felt gentle pressure on her hand as someone squeezed it. She wanted to open her eyes but they were so heavy. She tried to squeeze her hand in return, but her whole body was as heavy as her eyelids. Inside, she was screaming as she slipped back into the darkness.

 _25 held her hand tightly as the ran through the corridors of the upper level. They kept getting turned around, as they had only ever been up there once before, on that horrid day when they lost all but four of their brothers and sisters to the water test. The scientist was waiting at the south entrance to set them free into the coral reef. They would live there for a while until the search was called off and then swim for the nearest island her log pose indicated. So far, they had escaped unnoticed._

 _Just as they reached the only kind soul in this wretched place, the sound of approaching soldier boots reached their ears. 25 pushed her toward the scientist._

 _"Go, 36, I'll meet you in the reef."_

 _"No, come with me!"_

 _25 ran back to her and hugged her tightly, before kissing her nose and pushing her back to scientist. "Go!"_

 _He took off down the corridor, toward the sound of the approaching footsteps. He started to cross the intersection of the hallways, only to be met by a bullet hailstorm. The air was thick was the smell of his blood as Lithium screamed and started to run to him. The scientist picked her up, struggling to hold onto her as she fought him with every step he took toward the door._

 _"LET ME GO! I HAVE TO HELP HIM!"_

Her own scream seemed to jolt her awake for a moment, but still the darkness took her back yet again. Before she was claimed entirely by it, she swore she could hear Zoro call her name.

 _She felt helpless as Zoro pushed her away from the falling apartment building. She had heard the piano crash into him but was not worried. She knew it would take more than a piano to harm him. She jumped back in alarm when the broken timber left craters like the stone should have and the crash with greater force in the same way._

 _There was only one person she knew who could do that, but he was dead._

 _Out of from behind the wreckage strode a charcoal gray and black figure. He was older now, but there was no mistaking the man before her. Her nose confirmed what her eyes did not want to believe._

 _"You were dead!"_

 _25 tilted his head, his smile as warm as she remembered it. "They didn't kill me, 36. I've been looking for you all this time."_

 _Lithium stared at him. His voice was so much deeper than the little seven-year-old she knew before but it still had the same positive lilt, even when strained and sad. She tore her eyes away though, when she heard Zoro groan from beneath pile of stone and planks._

 _He grabbed her attention when he hurled a stone next to the boulder beside her. "Who the hell is that?"_

 _"My friend, Zoro. Would you help me get him out of there?"_

 _"He was chasing you."_

 _She shook her head. "No, he was following me..."_

 _He took a few steps closer to her, scenting the air. "Why do you smell like him?"_

 _Lithium blushed, knowing what he was imply without having to be told. "Ah, that...um..."_

 _25 closed the distance between them, hooking a finger under her chin and tilting her head upward. She held her breath as he smelled her lips, her neck and her ears. "He kissed you...but he's not your mate..."_

 _He lifted his hand, the rubble lifting off Zoro. The air rippled as she felt him increase the gravitational pull on them. She did not wast a second and leaped into the pile of rubble, screaming as a chunk of rock snapped her leg with little resistance when he let them drop. A few more hit her before being sent scattering around her. 25 looked down at her in horror but his ears shot up and he ran just as she heard Zoro yell her name. She felt his arms encircle her before the darkness claimed her._

Lithium woke to pale early morning light pouring in the infirmary window. Zoro was slumped over in a chair, asleep sitting up. There were dark circles under his eyes. His head was bandaged, as was various places up his arms. It took her a moment, but she realized he was wearing her nightshirt, which fit him like a normal shirt would. That brought a smile to her face, but a stiff one, her face uncooperative due to disuse.

 _I'm glad you're okay...I don't know what I'd do if you weren't..._


	13. Chapter 13

_Hello my dear readers! I'm so sorry this took me so long to write! There had been personal drama and a missing writing muse as of late, but I'm back in the writing business. As an apology, another chapter will be up soon as well. I love you all and again, I'm sorry for my sudden lack of updates!_

* * *

His muscles slid rhythmically as he put every ounce of strength he could afford to into training without causing damage to the infirmary. The room did not have the same reinforcements Franky put into the crow's nest and he did not want to cause his nakama any more trouble than they were already going to in order to take care of Lithium. There was someone with her around the clock, though it was always a struggle for them to make him leave.

He fought it unless Robin was taking a shift. He had learned long ago she was not a person who lost arguments.

Zoro shook his head as he pushed himself back to sitting, facing Lithium's still sleeping form. She had woken up a few times after a couple days, once screaming, but never long enough to communicate. He ran his fingers along the border of the white and gray parts of her cheek, feeling a small swell of relief when she leaned into his fingers. She did not stir otherwise but it was better than nothing.

 _I want to hear your voice again...please wake up..._

He realized how on edge he was when he nearly jumped out of his skin at the soft sound of Lithium's purr. It was a good sign though, as she always made some sort of sound before waking. He had spent more time awake this past week than he ever recalled doing willingly at any point he remembered, so he had no reason to question why he felt drained. His physical stamina was superb, his mental control incredible, but he was coming to realize that there was something that could shake his emotional grounding.

 _I can't fault myself for that...I haven't really experienced this type of thing before...I just have to improve..._

At the moment though, he had his doubts about whether or not it was possible. He leaned his chin on the pillow next to her face. Her ear twitched in reaction to his proximity, tickling his nose.

"Damn it woman, even unconscious, you're still adorable and I don't know how to handle that..."

Spending more than his usual time awake left him a considerable amount of time to think over the situation he found himself in. It still bothered him that they were still awkward before she was injured. He knew Robin was right, that he needed to talk to her about what had happened.

 _How do I even begin now? How do you say "sorry I kissed you and almost grabbed your ass" without saying it? And how then do I say that I meant it though...that I want you...that its more than that_... _how do I say any of this after I let a building fall on you?_

He stroked her ear with one finger. _How do I tell you I love you when I barely understand how to apologize to you? And its only been a few weeks...would you find that weird?_

Zoro had said it already, back in town as he pulled her from the rubble, yet she had already been knocked unconscious before the words tumbled desperately from him. Left mostly to either watch Lithium sleep or train, he had to confront the idea that his panicked declaration was true.

Facing his feelings head-on, he at first tried to rationalize that he was protective of her like any of his nakama. He added that he had on occasion found Nami and Robin cute, just in their own ways since the three women were considerably different aside from their sharp intellects.

The little voice in his head was as good at arguing as Robin though because it forced him to look at his actions. While he worried about the other women when they were in the many and various fights in the past, and become thoroughly pissed off when their enemies hurt them, he had never once cried over them.

And while he had found Robin and Nami nice to look at, he had never dreamed of tackling them to a bed and kissing them senseless. He also figured he would have been down a hand if he tried to grab either woman's ass like he had Lith's, so that had not occurred to him either.

Laying on their bed in the dark, still on his side of the bed despite her abscence, Zoro had to admit there was something different when it came to Lithium. He knew he was attracted to her, that much was plain, but it was more than that.

This woman made him cry. This woman, balanced precariously on the edge of death, had made him call out to any deity that may have been listening. In the days before Chopper declared her stable, she caused him to forget his goals in life. It took Nami reminding him, partially with her fist, that Lithium would be furious if he abandoned those goals over her.

Now he could freely admit it to himself, as he leaned his cheek on her shoulder. He loved Lithium.

He had no clue how to tell her though. He was out of his depth when it came to the softer side of life, particularly this fuzzy woman. She left him aching with desperate need, yet far more whole than he recalled feeling before now.

Lost in thought as he was, he was thrown backward when said fuzzy woman sat bolt-upright, ears perked and eyes wide. She laid back down with a groan though, holding her head. Her nose twitched a little before she spoke on a small dry voice.

"Tell Nami she needs to prepare for the storm faster...Zoro..."

He stared at her from his spot on the floor, caught up in hearing her voice again until the ship rocked violently, tossing her from the bed into him.

She groaned again as she looked up at him. "Too late..."

Zoro wrapped his arms around her and pushed them both to their feet, remembering at the last second to keep her off her broken leg. He flung open the door to a surprisingly chaotic scene.

He did not have time to react to the scene itself as an enormous wave swept over the deck, dragging Chopper with it. Robin grabbed a hold of him, only to be wrenched along by the wave.

He braced Lithium against the doorframe and surged forward after Chopper, seeing Sanji follow suit to save Robin.

They were both beaten to the railing though, by a gray and white blur. Zoro only saw her shift as she hit the arc of her dive off the ship, a long powerful fish form replacing her own battered legs. By then, neither man could stop her, not with the ship nearly rolling over with every wave.

"What the hell?" Sanji yelled over the waves. "What is she thinking?"

Zoro roared back. "Don't care, I'm going in!"

Before they could move, a dual-toned hand clutched the railing between them. Lithium hoisted Robin over it.

"Take her, dammit, I have to go back for Chopper!" There was a strange rasp to her voice, as if she was gasping for air with each word.

The minute Sanji hand a hold of the other woman, Lithium dropped back into the churning sea. Zoro started to follow, but Robin caught his arm, shaking her head.

"She has gills."

Zoro knew the implication of what Robin forced herself to yell, even after nearly drowning. Lithium was better-equipped for this than any of them for this, even injured. He had to trust her strength to get her through this. To go in now could even be more a hindrance to her.

Sanji carried Robin to a safety, while Zoro continued to white-knuckle the railing. The few soaked, unstable minutes he spent waiting for Lithium to surface were agonizing until her hand grasped the railing again.

She started to slip and he grasped her wrist, hauling her up and over the railing, taking Chopper from her with his other hand.

He said nothing, but dragged her, still fish-shifted to the infirmary and half-tossed them both in. He could be mad at her for terrifying him later.

He turned to respond to Nami's barked orders. First he had to help them all get through the storm intact.

* * *

Lithium still could not believe the bright sun and prefectly white puffy clouds after that horrendous storm, despite the fact that she was laying in said warmth on the deck lawn, staring up at the shapes the clouds took in the shifting breeze above her.

She was bored though, bored out of her skull, to the point that she was searching for penis-shaped clouds and finding a surprising number of them.

She was under strict orders to rest and she was not about to argue it considering her roommate and her doctor were none too thrilled at her little swim the day before.

"Well okay, I argued a bit...Robin and Chopper are safe though...isn't that what matters?"

"Not when you just woke up after nearly being crushed and made one of your injuries worse."

Zoro was sitting a few feet away from her, his eye closed. She had presumed he was asleep until he answered her.

She pouted at him. "But-"

"-No. The cook and I could have handled it."

"You don't have gills!"

Zoro opened his eye and glared at her. "We never needed them before."

She sat up slowly, as instructed by Chopper so she did not make her concussion any worse. It was mild but given the current discussion, she did not want to give Zoro any more ammunition.

"Can't I at least draw?"

Zoro sighed. "You don't rest when you draw. You're too intense."

"But I can only stare at clouds for so long!"

 _You on the other hand I could stare at for days...why are you hotter when angry? Is that even possible? It's not fair..._

Zoro stared at her a moment, then pushed himself up and scooped her off the lawn. Her cheeks blazed their usual "Zoro just touched me" red as he strode off to their room.

Her blush deepened when she remembered what happened the last time they were in there together. Though it had been over a week ago, she swore she could still feel his lips on hers. All the lost time made her feel that all the more. Despite wanting to protest, she let him carry her away from the deck, trying not to visibly snuggle into his arms.

Zoro nudged open the door with his foot and strode in purposefully, setting her down on the bed in an impossibly gentle manner. He then covered her up and tucked the blanket under the mattress on three sides.

"Stay here." His tone was so no-nonsense, she was half-tempted to ask him why he was using his "dad voice" on her. She only refrained through sheer force of will.

"I couldn't go anywhere if I tried." She rolled her eyes a bit. "Sure is going to be interesting when I need to pee."

A tiny smirk played at Zoro's lips, though only for a moment. "You'll figure something out."

Lithium was grateful he only smirked a little because she was already falling apart at the seams over him. The smirks only made it worse, even when they also caused relief.

She hated that he was mad at her over what she had done. She knew it was reckless but she also knew she could handle the storm better than anyone. She had not lived in a reef for a month to not learn how to swim in a storm.

"I can't undo what I did..." Her ears drooped a little. "Please stop being angry..."

Zoro stopped mid-stride and looked over his shoulder. "I'm not angry, I'm worried. Did you miss the part about how you nearly died and were unconscious for a week?"

He turned fully and sat on the edge of the bed. "Then you go leaping off the ship in a storm-"

"-for a good reason!"

Zoro glared at her and she glared back, not that it phased him at all. "Sure, but you could have died out there. So excuse me if I'm more than a little worried about you."

Lithium laid her ears back. She started to struggled against the blankets but his serious expression broke for a fleeting moment, into something she had not expected.

 _He...he was scared..._

"So will you stop fighting me and rest?"

She nodded her ears drooping to the side of her head again. _Look at me like that and I'll do anything..._

Zoro reached over and gently ruffled her hair. "I'll come get you when the cook is done with lunch. You get better...I miss my favorite sparring partner."

Lithium snuggled down in the restricting blankets. "I'll do my best. I miss touching-I mean sparring with you...that's what I mean..."

If he had noticed her slip-up, he had the decency not say anything. Instead, he pushed himself off the bed in a one smooth motion. She tried not to ogle, but not nearly hard enough.

 _Why am I so weak when it comes to this man? Gorgeous, worried about me...so worried he was actually scared I might die...actually scared...Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, first mate of the Mugiwara pirates...a man with 320,000,000 on his head...was scared..._

She curled up under the blankets, watching him leave with no doubt she was disappointed to see him go. At this point though, she could not ask him to stay. Chopper had told her how Zoro had barely left her side the whole time she had been unconscious. She knew this set him back considerably in his training.

 _I would do anything not to get in the way of his dream. I want to help if anything...I want to see him beat Mihawk and become the world's greatest swordsman...even if he never sees me the way I see him...just seeing that would be enough..._

Lithium mentally chided herself as she tried to picture that day. Every time she imagined Zoro triumphant, he was always sweaty, bloody and hotter than the depths of hell.

 _Saints preserve me in alcohol...I am gong explode keeping this in..._

Zoro popped into her view so suddenly, she leaped from the bed, tangled in the blankets. The mattress went with her, flipping over on top of her with soft 'thwap'.

She heard the sound of a tray slamming the desk and Zoro vaulting the bed frame. The mattress was off her before he even landed. He scooped her up and sat on the loveseat, his hands running along broken leg, gently touching her still-tender ribs, checking her arms for any new injuries.

She wanted to tell him she was fine, that she landed on the blankets, but his face was so intense, she let him finish checking her to his satisfaction.

"I left you for five minutes and this happened..."

Lithium snorted, shaking her head. "You startled me. It wasn't you leaving that was the issue."

"I should have been more careful then...you didn't hit your head again, did you?"

He started parting her hair to look for bumps before she could answer. It sent a delightful shiver skittering down her spine, so again, she let him finish what he started. It was a challenge not to start grinning over how gentle he was considering she had seen him slice sea kings into bite-sized pieces without a second thought..

"So...you brought food in here."

Zoro smoothed her hair back down as his search was concluded. "Yeah for both of us. We have been kicked out of the rest of the ship until dinner."

Lithium tilted her head. "Well I already have been, but why you too?"

Zoro threw his hands up and shook them, clearly imitating someone, as the look on his face was soul-crushingly sarcastic. "It's a surprise!"

She grimaced. "Oooh good...should I be terrified?"

"Most likely."

"Should you?"

"If I were a lesser man, my proper reaction would be to run screaming."

Lithium nodded. "Well let's eat and play tic-tac-toe while we await our impending doom."

Zoro grinned and stood to retrieve lunch. "I like the way you think, woman."

The grinned nearly ended her right there. _Sweet sake, I love this man and I am doomed..._


	14. Chapter 14

_Absence Apology Chapter! It's a little different but I hope you like it anyway!_

* * *

Zoro was not sure how he went from playing children's pencil and paper games with Lithium in their room to being forced into a black dress shirt and dress pants. Usopp was debating the right shade of purple for his tie, while Luffy sat by the door of the men's quarters as the cheery door guard. Had they posted anyone but the captain, he would have been out the door. He was sure, as Usopp finally settled on the darker of the five shades of purple they had to chose from, that whoever was the mastermind behind this was fully aware of this fact. He suspected Robin, considering how much forethought was put into apprehending and coercing him into going along with whatever this was.

Whenever he asked, the answer was simply "It's a surprise!"

He was beginning to hate that phrase. He spent part of the time he had been subjected to this process, mostly the bathing part of it, guessing at what his nakama had up their collective sleeve.

Usopp glared down his nose at him. "Quit fidgeting, this tie is going to be a mess if you don't stay still."

Zoro sighed and held still. "Maybe if you told me what this was about I'd go along with it and don't you dare say it's a surprise! And why purple?"

Usopp raised an eyebrow at him. "I would have thought you would have figured that out at least. Don't tell me you're as dumb as Sanji thinks you are."

"Well I know it's Lith's favorite color-oh...that makes sense now..."

Usopp finished the surprisingly intricate tie knot and moved on to rolling up Zoro's sleeves to just under his elbows. Again the swordsman frowned.

Luffy jumped in this time with his usual face-splitting grin. "Apparently women tell each other all kinds of weird things. Zoro-wife said she liked this outfit and stuff."

Zoro was instantly more cooperative, despite still wondering what was going on. _Lith likes this look? Well...if it makes her happy, I can put up with this...and it's hell of better reason to wear something like this than Dressrosa was..._

Usopp stepped back to check his handy work. "Well, the outfit will work. Let's see if I can do anything with your hair. Not that it will last because of the blindfold..."

"BLINDFOLD!"

Usopp held his hands up in a gesture of peace. "Hey man, I'm under orders from a higher authority!"

Luffy's grin broadened. "We were threatened with unimaginable pain and debt if we ruined the surprise."

 _Oh great, Robin AND Nami..._

Zoro huffed softly, but sat down so Usopp could make some sort of order out of the chaos that was his hair. It only took a few minutes though, before the sniper gone hairstylist was satisfied.

"Went for something messy so it doesn't matter what the blindfold does to it."

He pushed him toward the small mirror in the men's quarters to get a look for himself. Zoro was honestly impressed because he had no clue his hair could do what the other man made it do. It was messy, but directional so it had the appearance of being far more controlled.

He did not have anymore time to look over what had been done to him though, as Usopp blindfolded him the minute there was a knock at the door.

"He's ready!"

He felt Luffy leading him to the door even without the extra sense his haki gave him. No one else could wrap their arm up another person like the captain could. Once they were out the door, the scent of food wafted toward him on the coastal breezes from the island they had arrived at after the storm. He could hear soft whispers of voices and fabric as Luffy stopped him near the food smells and let go of his arm.

Robin spoke up from somewhere across from him. "We have a timer set. When it goes off, you may remove your blindfold."

He heard the footfalls of the rest of most of the crew heading away from him and down the dock. When their voices had faded into the distance, the time mercifully rang only once so there was no scramble to turn it off. Zoro would not have cared anyway.

Lithium stood before him, a deep purple dress hugging her form as if made for her. A panel if black lace pulled his eyes down her body, ending just before a skirt of made of curled net fabric, her shapely legs peeking out among the purple and black tendrils.

He brought his gaze back up to her face, framed by long silvery curls. Her eyes were enormous, and only when their gazes met did he realize they were both holding their breath.

In barely a whisper, both exhaled a soft "whoa...". Zoro took a tentative step forward, irrationally concerned she would disappear if he moved too fast. When she did not disappear like a dream when he woke, he closed the distance between them.

Zoro prided himself in being a confident man, sure of himself in most circumstances. This was not one of those circumstances.

He looked away, using the intricately set table as an excuse to compose himself and held his hand out to her. His heart nearly leaped from his chest when he felt her small hand's feather-light touch on his fingers.

No words were exchanged as he led her to the table. For once in his life, he was trying to remember what the cook would do in this situation. Begrudgingly he had to admit that the idiot was the best example he had.

 _Okay...he would pull out her chair...and push her back to the table..._

The soft smile paired with the soft pink of her blush in the flickering candlelight when he followed Sanji's example more than made up for his dislike of the source.

He sat across from her, not taking his eyes from her. She was looking down at a piece of paper tented in front of her plate.

"What is that, Lith?" His voice seemed foreign to him, but he did not dwell on that long because she jumped at his words.

"Ah, a letter from Robin. Want me to read it?"

He nodded, his desire to know what was going on, besides the obvious resurfacing at this. "Sure."

Lithium opened the letter and cleared her throat before beginning. Her voice was small still as she read Robin's careful script.

" _Dear Zoro and Lithium,_

 _In light of the difficulties you have been through as of late, Nami and I concluded that the two of you needed some true alone time that did not just consist of shutting the door to the rest of the crew._

 _With that in mind, we put this dinner together for you. The rest of us shall be camping on the island until dinner tomorrow._

 _Please take this time to relax, and clear the air between you if need be._

 _-Robin-_ " ...There is also a post script about the dessert in the fridge that's only for me to know."

Zoro smiled, nodding a little. _Just the right amount of vague so no one else would have guessed the truth about our lack of actual marriage. Robin's craftiness is terrifying at times..._

 _"_ Well we should probably eat twin, or Sanji will somehow know we didn't eat it while it was warm."

Her voice was still impossibly small, but he could hear it better this time.

"Yeah...he's weird like that."

The food was excellent, as expected, but what it was escaped Zoro as he worked up the courage to finally bring up the awkwardness between them. They both made it through their food before he could bring himself to begin.

He cleared his throat but was immediately interrupted by Brook's disembodied voice from a previously unnoticed tone dial on the table, declaring that he wrote a song for them and he hoped they would dance to it like they would have had he had been able to attend their wedding.

Zoro stood from the table as the first notes flowed from the dial. This was something he was confident in. "Let's not disappoint the old man."

Lithium stared up at him. "But...I can't dance...you can?"

He pulled her to her feet with a slightly wry grin. "Perona wanted to learn, so Mihawk made me her partner. I learned even though I had no intention of adding that to me skill set."

She giggled as he swept her up into a simple waltz, adding the spin when he felt she had the basic steps down.

"Nothing like learning a fancy skill under duress."

He smiled down at her, genuinely this time. "You know it...so...can I say some thing?"

She tilted her head a little. "Of course. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Zoro took a deep breath, slight concern that apologizing for touching her when they're dancing would be odd welling up, but he pushed it away.

"I'm sorry...about the kiss...thing...I didn't mean to scare you...and then it got outta' hand..."

Lithium blushed a deeper pink but held his gaze. "...I'm sorry I ran..."

"You don't have to...it's my-"

The hand she had on his bicep, as she could not reach his shoulder, moved over to hush him. "No Zoro, I shoudn't have ran...I was scared...but we should have talked about it right then..."

She looked away, worrying her lip with her teeth. Her cheeks turned crimson. "Besides...I liked it...before I panicked..."

Zoro stopped suddenly, catching her as she tripped at the sudden change. He gulped, staring at the little woman in his arms, blinking in disbelief.

"You did?"

She nodded, the deep blush only deepening before his eyes. "I did...it was one hell of a first kiss..."

Zoro's breath was ragged when he remembered to let it out. His hands found the sides of her face and leaned in toward her. "Am I allowed to do it right this time?"

"You did it right the first time."

He smirked. "Oh is that so?"

Her gaze shifted to the side. "Ah well...I tried to kiss you back..."

His thumbs stroked her ears, bringing her attention back to him. "You succeeded."

He saw her bashful smile for a fleeting moment before he brought his lips to hers, sliding one arm down her back to pull her close. He smiled against her lips when he felt her arms wrap around his chest as far as they would go, her small hand gripping the slack of his shirt.

He broke the kiss reluctantly, feeling drunk on her. Lithium pressed her forehead to his chest, sounding as breathless as he felt.

"Where do we go from here, Lith?"

Her ears turned upward but she kept her face where it was. He felt her soft sigh warm the fabric of his shirt before she answered.

"I don't know...but how about we talk about over dessert?"

Zoro chuckled, squeezing her shoulders. "It's cheesecake, isn't it?"

She peeked up at him with one eye. "It's the only dessert that would move me from where I am now."

"Should I be jealous of it?"

Her giggles were beyond adorable to him as he let go of her. He watched her flounce to the kitchen until his view was blocked by someone as she slipped through the door.

He narrowly missed the foot flying at his face.

The cook grabbed the front of his shirt, practically snarling past his cigarrette. His tone was low and to any other person, threatening.

"What hell Marimo bastard? You were never married to Lithium and you had the nerve to act like you were!"

"No one would listen to me! Or her! We tried to say something!"

Sanji shoved him against the mast. "So why the hell did you keep sharing a room with her? Why do you keep acting like it's fine? Are you that damn selfish?"

Zoro shoved him back away from him. "If wanting to share space with the woman I love is selfish, then yeah, I'm that damn selfish!"

Sanji stared at him, mouth gaping open. "How the hell would you know what love is?"

"I just do! I'm not a complete monster!"

"Then why didn't you tell her immediately? Are you a coward?"

Zoro balled his fists, wanting nothing more in that moment than to shut him up. "It's not that simple! I don't know how it could ever work between us!"

Both men turned at the sound of a plate clattering to the ground.

Lithium stood in the doorway of the kitchen, face stricken as if she had been slapped. Even in the low light, Zoro could see tears spilling from her eyes.

"Lith?"

The moment he broke the heavy silence, she was gone, only the sound of her feet pounding the dock any indication of where she ran.

Zoro's breath caught in his chest, so shocked he let Sanji's kick connect. He barely felt it even as he went sprawling across the lawn.

"You fucking idiot! You say you love her and then you say that shit! You-"

"- I MEANT STILL HAVE NO CLUE HOW I COULD EVER DESERVE HER!"

Sanji stopped mid-kick at the sight of tears running down his face. Zoro would have welcomed the kick though.

"She sweet, beautiful, sarcastic as hell, she can probably kick my ass now...she is damn near perfect...what the hell do I have to offer her?"

The cook hauled him to his feet. "Shit, you do love her and that's enough...follow her, idiot marimo, before it's too late!"

Zoro nodded his silent thanks and took off into the darkening night.

* * *

Lithium's feet flew over the pavement, directionless but determined to put as much distance between herself and Zoro.

 _Why? How could he say that?...how can he kiss me then reject me?_

Her tears flowed freely, stinging her eyes. Not that she needed them. She did not care where she was headed. She just had to run until her injured leg would let her go no further.

 _How could I be so stupid? In the end...I'm always just for someone else's gain..._

She sagged against a nearby building, her leg screaming for her to stop. For a fleeting moment, she thought of how frustrated Chopper would be that she ran on it, but she doubted she would see him again so what did it matter?

When she dropped to her knees as the gravity increased around her, she did not struggle. The sounds of the marine guard rifles and the smell of the blood palms did not make her flinch.

Her shattering heart and the sound of her screams were all she knew. There was nothing else.

Shots rang out, but they were distant, as the scent of 25 wrapped around her numb body.

She thought she heard her name as she slipped into drugged slumber. She smelled blood, but the alarm it caused was drowned by her now-internal cries.

 _It's not worth the fight anymore..._


	15. Chapter 15

_Hello again my Lovlies! I'm so sorry I just dropped off the face of the planet, and at one of the two worst moments I could have! Please forgive me!_

 _Because I have done this and my life has become crazier, I have sat down and written all the remaining chapters of this fic. I don't want to leave you all hanging any longer. Yes, this journey is coming to an end. I'm a little choked up about that._

* * *

Pain like this was something he had not felt in a long time. It was strange, but even in this state, he could pinpoint that the last time was the crew's loss to Kuma, when he crash landed.

He managed to protect his vital organs from the barrage of bullets the Sea Angel guards showered on him, but his limbs has suffered in the process. He could not risk deflecting them back at his attackers.

Not with Lithium among them.

Zoro had been thinking only of her, only of what to say to her when he finally caught up to her. A small part of his mind was marveling at how she could outpace him on a broken leg, but the rest was panicked that it was over before they could even move past their awkward beginning.

 _Damn idiot...so panicked you didn't notice the danger until it was too late..._

He stumbled on in the direction he thought he came from, cursing at the stabbing pain in his leg. He had also remembered too late that Lithium had warned him the guards from the island used flechette rounds in their firearms since they had learned long ago nothing short of that was effective on her. They had proven effective on him as well, his arms already too weak to keep a grip on his katana, let alone fight effectively with them. Every step brought a fresh stab of pain from each metal barb, coated with the paralyzing agent Lithium feared that first night she was with him. He now understood why she had no mercy with the guards then.

He looked around, amazed he had at least found the docks. He never felt such frustration at his terrible navigation skills as he still did not know where the Sunny was docked. That is until he heard a familiar angered voice.

"What in the hell made you think that was a good idea, you idiot?!"

He sped toward the sound of Nami's yelling, training his ears to the sounds as the cook stammered a reply.

As he pounded up to the ship, he heard Robin's stearn voice cut off whatever weak reply Sanji offered.

"This was none of your business. It was none of ours until Lithium confided in Franky and Zoro in myself. You simply could not believe that Zoro could be gentle or that Lithium could handle herself should he not be. You never believed in her strength and because of this, you've hurt her beyond measure. You could not control your jealousy and look what has happened!"

Zoro stumbled on deck, falling to one knee, the paralysis starting to take full effect. "Forget that for now..."

His nakama looked up, the thoroughly rebuked cook the only one able to speak an eloquent "what the hell..?" as he and Franky rushed to help him to his feet.

"They got her...they're taking her to the lab...we..."

Before he could finish, Luffy's order rang out across the ship. "Set sail! We are getting Zoro-wife back!"

Nami began barking her instructions as Franky and Sanji wordlessly took him to the infirmary, Chopper right behind them.

Zoro was grateful for the help, even if his face did not show it. His legs had begun to shake with the effort of standing alone. They left him with the little doctor whose face was a new kind of stern. It was not an expression Zoro liked seeing on him, laced with doubt at it was.

"What happened Zoro? What happened that could take you down again? First a falling piano, now this?"

Zoro slowly explained what he knew of the guards' weaponry as Chopper examined him. To his relief, the stern expression melted as he spoke, Chopper's usual curiosity and focus returning at the new and helpful information.

Chopper laid out some tools before taking a deep, shuddering breath. "Let's get the flechettes out. I know we can't keep you from this fight so I gotta' make sure you're good to go...you kept them from hitting major blood vessels as well."

A small admiring smile crossed the reindeer's face as he removed the first barb and set it aside so he could examine it later. "Even partially paralyzed, you're still so cool!"

Several hours later, the flechettes were out and Zoro sat on the operating table, bandaged and sore as he waited for the paralyzing agent to work out of his system. Chopper had discovered, with a little help from their resident sniper gone inventor, that the flechettes were not coated, but were surprisingly intricate injectors for their size. While this was alarming from the standpoint of the technology available to the laboratory, this also worked in their favor.

One of the barbs had not penetrated deep enough to inject Zoro, so Chopper was busy working on an antidote to the extract. The swordsman, feeling more than a bit useless as the moment, watched him work as distraction for his worry. It only worked so well.

 _Who was that guy holding Lith? She said her siblings were dead...he looked too old to be new experiment...She said they would probably be about fifteen now if there were new ones born...she said she saw all of her siblings die...one sister in her arms even...except one..._

His hands slowly curled into fists, his nerves still struggling to relay the message to his body. Not that he cared, as he came to an uncomfortable realization.

 _Don't tell me that was 25...but it explains everything. She saw him shot...but if it takes drugged flechette rounds to take her down now, and still not lethally...who's to say regular rounds would take down one of them, even as a child?_

His knuckles turned white as he clenched them harder, though he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Lithium needed him to be his usual focused self. Expending his rage now would be a waste of energy.

 _...it would explain the attack on the previous island...why the buildings were destroyed despite a weak group of guards...why the piano hit me so hard...she said he could alter gravity..._

He felt renewed anger twining with dread coil into his heart. _...it also explains why she stood there and let him carry her away from me..._

A hesitant knock broke his train of thought before he could dwell on anymore implications 25 still living could mean for Lith. He looked up, growling in annoyance despite the relief he felt at the interruption.

Chopper slid off his chair and opened the door to Sanji with his eyes on the floor. "Hey...is he done now?"

Chopper merely nodded and moved back to his work. With a deep sigh, the cook entered, eyes still on his shoes.

"Ma-ah...Zoro...I'm sorry...I screwed things up..."

Zoro managed to keep his jaw from hitting his knees as he sat there before the last man he expected to apologize to him. "While I won't deny your part in this, don't you dare blame yourself for them kidnapping her."

"But she wouldn't have been out there-"

Zoro glared at him. "-you don't know that. And as much as I would love to pass the blame, I'm just as much at fault because I can't fucking say what I mean when I need to when it come to Lith...and she wouldn't want either of us to take blame in this..."

Sanji looked up, a wry expression on his face. "Still, I'm sorry I let my jealousy cloud my judgment."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Jealousy?"

"Don't get me wrong, I knew Lithium was off-limits from the start...never occurred to me to want her myself. I couldn't figure out why you got what I wanted without trying."

Zoro burst out laughing, only laughing harder when the cook started looking perturbed about it. "I have no clue either. All I did was sit my ass on the wrong bench and her quick thinking saved me from being executed for it!"

The corners of Sanji's mouth twitched upward. "I don't think I'll be using your method of attracting a woman anytime soon then...damn Marimo...saved by perfect woman for you..."

Zoro's face grew serious once more. "Now it's the other way around...I need you at your best, so if you still want to blame yourself, you can do it later."

Sanji's small smile turned to a full smirk. "Oh _you_ need _me_?"

Zoro smirked right back. "Yeah, I can't be bothered by the small fry while I slice those who did this to her into thousands of pieces."

Sanji lit a fresh cigarette before replying. "In any other situation, I'd take offense to that."

Zoro saw a strangely relieved expression cross the other man's face as Zoro himself grinned a little wickedly at this. There was no need to say that in any other situation, he would have meant to offend him.

"Well it certainly seems you're ready to work on a plan to use once we get there. Still need help walking?"

Zoro nodded once, leaving his pride on the operating table. Doing everything he could to save Lithium as fast as possible was more important than that.

* * *

The blood palms' honeyed-metallic scent turned her stomach into balled fist within her as she shuddered awake, the smell of her nightmares surrounding her even as she pulled herself from her subconscious. She curled tighter around herself, wanting her nose to be wrong, hoping her near-infallible senses were just confused by the cottoned-stuffed feeling wrapping her mind. Yet she knew her hope was in vain.

Lithium was sure she was in hell from this smell alone.

Gentle fingers ran through her hair, easing her tension at the familiar gesture until she remembered who made it familiar. She flinched away, trying to will her body to move despite the less than comfortable feeling of the paralysis agent extracted from the blood palm.

 _Just one more reason to hate those wretched plants..._

She forced her eyes open, the blurry but unmistakable face of 25 materializing in the fog of her vision. He smiled softly, but it did nothing to ease the fear that gripped her, or release the paralysis on her aching limbs.

"36, you're finally here with me."

She thought she was frowning, but only her eyelids seemed to cooperative at this point.

 _You tried to kill him..._

"I've missed you all these years...you've gotten better at drawing...you're so good at it."

 _You dropped a piano on him..._

"They're not going to hurt you anymore...no more dissection...no more experiments...just you and me working with them this time...

 _You increased the gravity so it hit him harder..._

"We don't have to be apart anymore..." He stroked her hair again.

 _You nearly killed my Zoro...the man I love...I don't care if he doesn't love me the same way...you tried to kill him...stop being so nice..._

"Our children will be better than us, make our creators proud..."

 _Children?_

"They said you should be able to have two pregnancies a year safely."

 _The hell is he talking about?_

"What do you think? We can finally have the dream we talked about as children!" He ran a finger along her ear, making it twitch.

 _But...but we never talked about that...we talked about a house in the forest...the swing hanging from a big tree...warm food every day...never having children...you're...you're my brother..._

"I'm sure our children will be beautiful. You'll see, once we're back home. They will explain everything."

 _...you may as well still be dead...they took you from just as well as killing you...I...I really am alone..._

Lithium squirmed, trying in vain to get away from his arms, but her body still would not respond. Her heart sank, knowing it must not have have been that long since she had the injection. And yet there was something that even blood palm extract could not numb.

Sheer stubbornness.

She only managed to move one arm, but it was all she needed to wiggle free after she elbowed him in the gut. It was just enough to make him let go of her, howling in pain as he was.

She fell to the rough wooden floor beneath them and inch-wormed her way into a corner. She knew once he recovered it would be nothing for him to pick her up once more, yet this short time of relief eased the revolt in her stomach.

 _...why am I not allowed to have people who actually love me?_


	16. Chapter 16

Zoro watched his nakama gather from the vantage point of where Sanji left him resting against the foremast. Nami was the last, walking up with a rolled map in her hands, the map of the compound she and Lithium had been working on in order to plan their attack. One glance at the navigator told him she had not considered Lithium would not be with them when they had this meeting. It was strange sort of comfort to know he was not alone in his concern, not that he doubted the others' care for the little shape-shifter.

Sanji set the deck table near them for Nami to spread out the map then walked over to him. "Hey, need a hand up again, marimo?"

Zoro accepted his help again, but his legs held this time. "Thanks, curly brow. Enjoy it while you can, I've already shook this stupid poison."

Nami rolled her eyes at both of them as she set small circular weights on the corners of not one but two maps. "Well at least you two are being calm while you're taking swipes at each other. Now lets get down to business."

She pointed to the first map, one of the island proper. "Lithium was able to fill in some details the atlas map didn't have, mostly the location of the compound and several perimeter fences. The most important feature she was able to add besides these was a mine field here."

She pointed to what would have otherwise been an innocuous clearing. "It's the most direct route to the compound, hence why they added the traps. Lithium said she had several better routes...but we hadn't gotten that far because we worked on this..."

She gestured to the other map, more of a diagram, of the compound. "She only had so much knowledge of the six levels, but we at least have something to go on. They kept the children on the lowest level for security reasons."

Sanji frowned as he examined the papers. "It looks like that minefield is extensive. How do we get past it?"

Zoro sighed softly, tapping the coral reef south of the island. "Lith said there's an underground river that connects the ocean to the lake, off this reef. It's how she escaped before. She had intended for myself and at least one other swimmer to follow her through there, while another group entered from the front. It's an idea to start with at least."

Sanji nodded, taking a drag of his cigarette. "As much as I'd rather stay with the ladies, I'll go with you. I'm the strongest swimmer and we can't have you getting lost under water, even if you are a marimo. As for the the other route, did she mention anything else?"

Zoro shook his head. "She was never in any other part of of the island. Even if she was here..."

All other faces were grave as he trailed off, both fists clenched at his sides. Luffy walking away as he usually did when plans were being made pulled his mind back to the table. " ...even if she were here, we still would not know what to expect. We don't have time for scouting though..."

Robin raised her head from the maps. He was not surprised, as Robin was usually their scout due to her Devil Fruit abilities. "What makes you think that?"

"She may not have been the only survivor of the first experiment group." Zoro forced his jaw to unclench and continued. "Another one, 25, is likely one of her kidnappers...and responsible for the attack on us at the previous island."

Nami's frown was deep at this. "But she always said he was the kindest sibling she had, her beloved older brother...at least that's what she told Robin and me over tea...why would he be a threat to her?"

Robin sighed deeply, her usual slight expression turning dark. "If it's indeed him and he's working with the scientists, no doubt they have at least attempted to indoctrinate him into their line of thinking. If not fully, they have likely showed him some advantage for him to help them retrieve Lithium."

"And the threat may not be to her life." Sanji's face grew as dark as Robin's. "No doubt you've already thought of that, marimo..."

Zoro merely nodded in response. This was a line of thought he did not wish to dwell on earlier in the infirmary. Reminding himself again that expending anger now was energy wasted, he found his voice again. "From everything she told me, I suspected he had feelings for her beyond that of brother and sister... even though they were little kids...pretty sure she didn't know how boys act when they like someone since she didn't know the word "cute" was a good thing...Lith always called him her brother, though."

Nami put a hand on his shoulder, conveying what did not need to spoken. "I'll keep the Sunny going as fast as possible. I'm sure Franky and Usopp can figure out a way to deal with the minefield so the rest of us can bust in the front door. You and Sanji-kun can sneak in, kick ass and bring her back."

Chopper looked up at him. "And I have the antidote ready. There's enough for everyone to carry two doses. We've got this, Zoro, like we always do."

The reindeer's voice shook as he was reassuring him, but it worked nonetheless on his exhausted nerves.

A little while later, Zoro slowly limped toward his room, the plans completed. All that was left for him was to wait for the extract to work it's way out of his body. As long as he could make his enemies pay for what they've done to Lith, he did not care how it happened. He fell onto the bed, gritting his teeth. The physical pain had lessened considerably, but the acute awareness the other side of the bed was empty seemed to make it worse.

 _It's only been a few weeks...but it's not right to be here without her...she should be here...reaching out to me in her sleep...purring softly...stealing the blanket so I have to grab another one..._

He pulled her pillow to his chest, the faint scent of lavender and sake reaching his nose.

 _Do you remember the night you stole every blanket we had in here, how I wrapped you up so tightly in all of them you couldn't move when you woke for your watch?_

He hid his face in his hand, trying to focus on the good things, the happy memories they already had. He could not focus on the dread that every second it took to catch up meant more pain for Lithium.

 _How about the time Luffy asked you to shift into a combination of the cook and Usopp and he and Chopper laughed so hard they passed out?_

He pulled her personal blanket around him. It was too small to cover him but he was beyond caring about that. It smelled like her, like her pillow and that was all that mattered.

 _Or the last time we sparred...before you were hurt...you won that one, Lith...you honestly did...even if I didn't say it..._

Zoro closed his eye and let the tears flow freely, curling around himself. It was no use keeping it in anymore.

 _I coming for you...don't give up..._

* * *

Lithium was surprised that 25 left her in the corner after she had made her escaped across the room. He had alway been stubborn like her, all the more so when things did not go his way. Maybe he was just giving her space to think about what he had said. Even if that was the case though, she was not going to think about it more than she had to because the thought sickened her.

 _He is my brother...my sibling...for all I know, we share a parent...the scientist did say the pool was small when they thought I wasn't listening...he doesn't even smell good...not the way a potential mate should..._

25 was sitting on a crate, looking out a porthole at the growing night, the only indication she could see that they were in the hold of a ship. The moon shone through it, casting a eerie glow on his charcoal features. She found herself staring at him, remembering the little boy he once was, wishing he could be that boy again.

The sudden movement of him turning toward her made her jump. "You always were skittish, 36. I hope you're done with that violent spasm so we can talk like civilized people."

 _Civilized? You're the one who drugged me..._

Her throat was dry, but she forced words out of it anyway. "Why would I want to talk? You're taking me back to hell."

"You don't understand, 36, they aren't going to hurt us anymore." His smile would have been soft if it was not so irritating to her.

"And you believe them?" She scoffed, shaking her head. "They killed our brothers and sisters. They tortured us!"

"If we cooperate, they won't hurt us again." He tilted his head as he watched her, his brown eyes glowing slightly green in the lowlight. "And I'll be there to protect you. We will be together like we always dreamed of."

Lithium stared at him, slack-jawed. "Do you remember nothing of what happened? Ninety-eight children, our brothers and sisters, died because of them! Some of them barely got to live!"

"They saved me, 36." He stood from the crate, walking over to her. "They trained me to use my powers. They wanted me to get you back for them. But I did it all for you. All of it, so I could have my 36 again."

25 knelt down, taking her still uncooperative hands in his, smiling down at her. "You were always beautiful...I loved watching you turn into this incredible creature..."

"Watching me?" Lithium felt her hackles rise. "How long have you been watching me?"

He reached out to stroke her ear. "I found you five years ago, after you left the brewery."

She jerked away, her ears laying back. "Why the hell didn't you say something then? I lost my new family then...I needed someone and you just followed me?"

"They didn't want me to scare you." He leaned in again but she pushed him away.

"Scare me? How would you scare me anymore than you are now?" She snarled, bearing her fangs. "You are defending the people who used to break our fingers for things we didn't even do! The people who made me live a life being called a freak! My father died so I could be free of this and so did my master!"

25 pressed in closer, wrapping his arms around her, pinning her arms at her sides. "It's not the same any more. She wants you back, I want you back. We just have to help and we will even get to stay on the top floor. You'll have a home again."

 _But...I had a home_.. _.but...I..._

"I found the perfect tree for the swing we wanted."

 _I had a home...but he didn't want me...not me...just what I could do for him..._

Lithium leaned into 25's arms, letting the renewed tears slip down her cheeks.

 _But am I any different? Maybe this is what I deserve..._


	17. Chapter 17

Zoro paced the length of the port side of the Sunny, even going up and down the stairs, despite the occasional stab of pain in his legs. Chopper had determined the paralyzing agent the guards had used on him caused some lingering nerve damage, but nothing permanent. It was just irritating for the time being as there was never a time he wanted to be at his best more than now.

 _The only other time I felt like this was that first fight with Mihawk..._

He stopped at the railing, staring out at the sea. He had so little to do beyond the occasional order from Nami, he was alone with his thoughts. While they had not been chasing the lab ship more than day, he could not settle, no matter how many times Robin told him it was best.

 _What are they doing to her...what am I missing...what is she having to endure on her own?_

In an attempt to recenter his mind, he went over the attack plan again. His and the cook's part was the simplest at first, just a long swim. The others had to traverse a minefield or a mountain pass, neither which sounded appealing despite everyone's strength. Near was they could deduce though, a three-pronged attack would be their best choice, given the limited information.

Lithium's memories she had shared with him mostly focused on the people, not the compound. Whenever Zoro tried to recall all she had said, all he could remember was look on her face, her ears pressed to the sides of her head, the near-endless stream of tears.

Robin approaching him was the only thing that prevented him from crushing the railing.

"She's strong, Zoro." Robin statesd plainly, settling beside him at the railing. "You know that better than anyone."

"Of course she is..." Zoro closed his eye, banishing his train of thought for the moment. "...if she fights back..."

Robin did not show it, but Zoro knew her well enough to tell she was surprised at this. "Why wouldn't she?"

"She just went with them...like she had given up...her eyes weren't right..."

Robin's slight smile became thin, taught line. "It was likely shock at the misunderstanding, though it is still worrisome...all the more reason it's good that our sniper has spotted the island on the horizon. Nami says we should be there by nightfall."

He pulled his hands away from the rail before the wood started to splinter. "Good...sooner we get her back...the better..."

Robin nodded solemnly, pushing away from the railing. "And the sooner you can tell her the truth."

Zoro gritted his teeth. He was still pissed at Sanji for his interruption, but he could not deal with that until Lithium was safe in his arms again. There were several times since they began the chase that he wished the fool cook had waited just a little bit longer to freak out on him. A few more minutes and he would have told her everything. His fumble with words would have mattered less then. Yet he knew this was hindsight, just as he told Sanji when he apologized.

"I know that you are worried, but you should at least eat dinner." Robin patted his shoulder, as she headed for the dining room. "She would want you to take care of yourself despite your worry for her."

Zoro nodded but looked back out at the water, looking for the faint line of land on the horizon. His eyes were not as good as Usopp's nor did he have any augmentation so it was still beyond what he could see. He waited until Robin had disappeared behind the door to move, not to the dining room, but to the aquarium bar. He slumped down on the stuffed seats, turning to watch the recent catch swim behind him.

 _I'll eat in a little bit...I just can't right now..._

The dumbwaiter clunked the bottom of the shaft down the middle of the room, the smell of not only food but also the sharp smell of Lithium's last bottle of her personal brew. When he did not cross the room immediately to do get it, Sanji's voice could be heard from it.

"I know you're down there. Don't make me force-feed you, marimo!"

Nami's voice followed, her tone clearly unamused. "I'll help and I'll add to your debt for the inconvenience!"

Zoro shook his head, a small smile finally playing at the corners of his mouth as he took the tray from the dumbwaiter. "Yeah yeah, I hear ya'...I'll eat..."

He sat down to his plate, his smile growing a little at it. There was the usual onigiri, but the cook had recreated the plate of snacks he had made for Lithium the first evening she was with them. He did not doubt that most of it was Sanji's way of coping with the frustration of the situation, but he knew the idiot well enough to see this was also for Zoro's benefit.

 _This is the family Lith should be with...the one that worries over her...that remembers silly little things about her..._

He drained the tumbler of alcohol before starting in on the food. _...one that would do anything for her...keep her safe..._

Once the food was done, he leaned back and let himself fall asleep. It took longer than he expected and was restless, but it was better than fretting like he had been. Nothing disturbed him until Usopp's voice rang out across the ship.

"We're almost the reef! Get ready!"

* * *

25's eyes followed 36's movements as she paced around the cell that was currently her home. His gaze was level, though one ear twitched, giving lie to his poker face. He did not like being separated from her now that he had her back, but for security reasons, the scientist's insisted she be kept in a secure location until she had been fully convinced of their ideals.

He glanced over as a sharp-dressed woman joined him on the observation deck, clucking her tongue softly as she watched the woman snarling at the locked door. "She has not calmed at all, has she? I would have thought your presence at least would have eased her mind about returning home."

25 narrowed his eyes at the woman. "I would think you'd realize just how stubborn she can be. You would know best where she got that, ma'am."

She placed a well-manicured hand over her mouth, laughing softly into it. "Well, I cannot argue with that, 25. Still, you are her most important person. Why did it take you so long to bring her in?"

25 looked back to 36 in her cell. "She can survive just about anywhere. She has improved that shape-shifting ability of hers so incredibly over the years, she barely needs to dodge bounty hunters anymore."

He frowned deeply at the glass before him. "And then somehow ended up traveling with the Mugiwara pirates..."

The woman looked up at him sharply, her brow as deeply furrowed as his. "The Mugiwara pirates? How in the world did she manage that?"

25 did not speak at first, his neutral facade breaking for a moment. "I'm not sure..."

The knowing smile on the woman's face just begged to be wiped off, but he knew better than to try. One word from this woman and the deal he made was off.

 _"_ It sounds like you know more and wish to deny it." She tilted her head in an all too familiar way. "Was she with the Mugiwara pirates because some pirate stole her heart?"

25 snarled at her, even though he knew that only confirmed her suspicion. "I never confirmed anything...but she smelled like one of them...even to my relatively weak nose..."

Her chuckle was laced with a wicked lilt. " How droll...I know some about this crew. Which one is lucky pirate?"

"Some green haired-guy with swords...I didn't care to learn his name."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro. And what about him? Does he think the same of our little 36?"

25 pushed away from the window and stalked off, in no mood for the woman's questions. He had better things to be thinking about than her crass amusement.

 _Damn that Roronoa Zoro...she's mine...only mine..._

* * *

The woman chuckled softly to herself at the young man's retreating back. She turned her attention back to the woman in the cell, a smirk creeping across her lips. "You thought you could run from me forever, 36."

She ran her hand down the glass before her. It had been far too many years since her best experiment had been here. She almost lost her composure when she received notice that 25's team had finally caught the wayward shape-shifter.

Almost.

But she was finally here, back where she belonged. She, the great scientist Moira Benson, finally had the weapon she had fought so long for.

 _And to think my own people doubted my theories when I decided to carry her myself...look at her...near-perfect...only the tiniest flaw..._

Her smirk grew as she watched the young woman finally give in and collapse into a heap on the floor.

 _I wonder if she and Roronoa had a physical relationship ship...if the rumors are true, children from those two would be exactly what I'm looking for..._

Moira's emotional mask broke as she recalled the reason why her laboratory had to shift gears from swimming Devil Fruit users not so long ago. The Mugiwara pirates had made a complete mess of Donxiote Doflamingo and his operations, ending her supply of artificial devil fruits.

 _It's somewhat fitting revenge to take 36 from that annoying bunch...but I wonder if I can spin this further to my advantage..._

Her mind was always weighing her options and she never tired of its sharpness.

 _I wonder if Roronoa Zoro would take the same bait I offered to the little idiot 25...he could screw 36 all he wanted as long as they made all the offspring I require and they would never want for anything...I could even get his bounty suspended...why wouldn't he want that?_

She walked down the hall to the nearest elevator, each click of her heels punctuating her resolve to make this happen.

... _what straight, hot-blooded pirate male wouldn't jump at this chance?_

* * *

Lithium huddled on the floor, whimpering softly into the tile. Her knuckles were raw and bloody from her desperate attempt to escape the cell, the old discipline room.

She could still hear the echoes of screams and fingers snapped forceably on the table.

The table still stood in the middle of the room, bloodstains still down the legs.

The metallic scent still lingered in the stale air.

 _You're doing this on purpose...you're trying to break me again..._

She curled closer to herself, her body starting to shake.

 _Dammit...it's working..._


	18. Chapter 18

Zoro surfaced at the edge of the large lake with a gasp. The tunnel-bound river had tested the limits of his lung capacity and nearly found them lacking. He turned, waiting for the cook to surface as well. He felt a small tug of concern right before he surfaced as well, sputtering for breath.

"Lithium...wasn't kidding...when she told you that was long..."

Zoro nodded and pointed to his head, reminding Sanji about the waterproof head lamp up there that was still on. "Go dark and then we can talk, curly brow."

Before he switched off the light, he saw a flicker of apology on the cook's face. Once it was off though, the other man all but disappeared into the ink-black night. They did not even have the moon to light their way. It was far worse in the tunnel though, so he was grateful for the combined ingenuity of their sniper and shipwright in providing them the lamps.

Zoro found himself wishing he had Lith's nightvision as they swam silently through the dark water toward the dock that stretched nearly half way across the lake. All of those thoughts fled from his mind though when he remembered where they swam.

 _I'm going to save your sister and avenge your deaths...I swear it..._

"Oi, cook, pay your respects." He whispered over his shoulder. "Lith's brothers and sisters are buried here."

He did not see what the other man did, but the quiet sounds of his swimming paused and he heard a few soft words before the sounds resumed. Zoro said a few more of his own, mostly to inform them how dear their sister was and that she never forgot them.

 _I won't either...I'll make sure what happened to you all is known...one way or another..._

As they neared the dock, the sounds of the other groups attacking the compound from the front and opposite side. He imagined Luffy was actually enjoying being the diversion this time around. Normally as captain and strongest of the crew, he would have take down the head of whatever force they faced.

This time, Luffy told Zoro this was his fight because it was "Zoro-wife" they were saving.

Zoro could not agree more.

He heaved himself onto the dock, growling to himself, knowing all too well this was where thing became complicated for them. Lithium had only been out here twice and with the traumatic nature of both instances, she only had so much to tell him. They had next to nothing to go on from here on out. The only clue they had was that Lithium always said they experiments were housed on the last two floors. Once they were in, they would head for those levels first.

The dock was silent, save from the ambient sound of night creatures in the surrounding forest. Still, they ducked between shipping crates, sticking to the shadows.

The wall of the compound before them burst open. Though they couldn't see him well, Usopp's sillouette was unmistakable as he waved to them from the hole in the wall. "The elevator is in the center of the compound! Sanji, take him left!"

Zoro ignored the slight about his horrible sense of direction and followed the cook as Usopp covered them. He was glad for the sniper's help. It was not part of the original plan, but the fact that he gave to directions to Sanji made it far less likely this was another shapeshifter.

That and no shapeshifter could dream of replicating the Usopp's deadly accuracy.

A group of guards attempted to cut them off but one sweep of the cook's leg and one strike from him and they were all scattered across the corridor floor. Zoro noted they were normal humans, unlike the strange guards that had attacked them twice before.

They reached the elevator without further issue with guards. Usopp smacked the button panel, only to find it in lock-down mode.

Zoro sliced through the doors without a word though the keening metal brought another wave of guards their direction.

Usopp fired a couple of rounds down the hall, giant plants filling the corridor. Over the sound of screaming soldiers, the sniper called over his shoulder.

"I've got this, keep going!"

Zoro nodded to him and he and Sanji dropped to the top of the elevator car a level below them.

Sanji smirked. "Wanna' cut the cable and ride this down? No doubt they know about us already."

Zoro chuckled dryly, a wicked smirk across his lips. "Won't help them."

He sliced through the cable, riding out the long drop just as easily as the cook did, both of them non-chalantly walking out of the door at the bottom that Sanji opened with a half-hearted kick. The normal guards waiting for them seemed unnerved by this, but the larger ones, clearly enhanced in some fashion, just readied themselves for the inevitble.

Sanji blew smoke toward the human blockade, clearly unimpressed. "I'll take these guys. Your lady awaits, Marimo."

"Have fun, curlybrow."

Zoro took off down the hall, once again feeling the strange sensation that he knew where he was going, rather than a vague notion and a sense he was going to be hopelessly lost.

Apparently finding Lith was greater that his directional challenges. He was not going to question it and tied on his black bandanna with a resolute growl.

A scream echoed through the halls. Zoro poured on the speed, nearly flying toward the sound.

* * *

Lithium wiped the blood from her mouth, growling with rage at the man across the room. "I said get away from me, 25!"

25 stood up stiffly, rolling his shoulders. "You've become so strong, 36. Still, it won't be enough. I don't want to hurt you."

Her ears laid back as she snarled at him. The fur on her back stood up straight in her anger, straining at the flimsy tank top they had put on her when her dress was ruined. "I don't want to hurt you either, but dammit, I will if you try that again!"

25 shook his head. "You can't fight me, 36. What's your shifting in comparison to my gravity?"

He held a hand outward and her limbs gradually grew heavier. She was not going to defeated so easily though, imperceptibly increasing her muscle mass as he poured on the gravity.

She had been foolish to let him touch her though, knowing he could now increase the pressure on her without effecting himself.

She honestly never expected him to kiss her, let alone try to mark her as his.

25 wiped the blood from his mouth as well, shaking his head. Clearly he had not expected her to bite his lip in reaction to the unwanted contact. It made her opinion clear which is what mattered to her.

"You would be surprised, _brother."_ She nearly spat the last word like a curse. "And I already told you, 36 died the day you seemed to. I'm Lithiuim now."

"You were always so quirky, 36. You don't need that name. It's silly."

He strode confidently toward her. She let him think she could barely move due to his abilities, letting her arms hang heavily at her sides.

"You don't need ridiculous romantic notions, 36. This is reality. You belong to me and we belong here, to make the army Moira wants."

He stood inches from her, leaning his face into hers. "We can all get what we want, 36."

She hissed at the surprised look on his face when she pushed him backward with one hand, knocking him sprawling with a hard punch with the other.

"My name is Lithium! And I never wanted any of this!"

25 held out his hand as he flipped back to his feet. Lithium fell to her knees, the gravity too much for her. She could not even shift her way out of it, having used too much energy already. She cursed under her breath, well-aware this was why they had not fed her. Try as she might, she could not even dodge when his knee came flying at her face. The only thing she could do was brace for the jarring impact.

"I waited for you all these years...I let you stay with that sake guy for as long as you did before they killed him..."

Lithium felt the pressure ease from her battered body, but it had done its job when she hit the floor. The wind had been knocked out of her and only a desperation shift of more padding to the back of her prevented greater injury. For a brief moment, she was glad she trained as hard as she did so it was second-nature.

It did not make it hurt any less when 25 grabbed her hair and lifted her to his face by it. "Ah, dammit!"

He grabbed her chin, forcing her look up at him. "I let you get stronger so you'd be perfect for me, yet this is the thanks I get?"

"There's nothing to thank you for! YOU DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ME!" She winced as he tugged on her hair harder.

The door flying inward in several pieces cut off 25's snarled response.


	19. Chapter 19

Zoro was only vaguely aware of the waves of guards that attempted to stop him and met with utter failure. The anger in the cry he heard was all he could think of. Even then, his mind was already clearing of unnecessary thought, sharpening his deadly focus to a razor's width.

Lithium's angry cry floated from the door next to him, a large steel one that looked more like a vault than anything for holding people.

Yet it was only between him and her for a few seconds more, sliced cleanly in four neat triangles before he busted in.

Calm, composed Zoro was gone the moment he saw the man he presumed to be 25 holding Lithium by her hair, her jaw caught in his bruising grip.

Killing intent was palpable when he snapped. "GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF MY WIFE!"

Startled, 25 turned to Zoro, only to have Lithium slip his grip on her chin and bit down on his arm, ignoring the spray of blood across her face. To Zoro, it looked more like it made her bite harder.

It was strange but that cleared his mind again, seeing the blood dripping down her face. 25 roared in pain, punching the back of her head to free his arm, yet she held on.

Zoro exploded into motion, slamming into 25. He wanted to end him right there, but for Lithium's sake, he held back. He would until she said otherwise. The moment she gave him the word, 25 would be in multiple pieces on the floor.

The three of them tumbled to the floor, Lithium groaning at the myriad of bruises she was only adding to, even though somehow Zoro had hit 25 in just the right way that she ended up on top if the pile of limbs. Not that it surprised her. Zoro did that in their sparring sessions, so why not in combat?

She tried not to smirk too much as they disentangled themselves. The last thing she needed to think about during combat was Zoro's acrobatic abilities. At least in that way, but apparently that is what he did to her.

And how was she supposed to react when he busts in the door all sweaty and manly, demanding her assailant unhand _his wife?_

Zoro noticed Lithium's smirk as she rolled away from him and 25. It was not a smirk he remembered her wearing before, but she shook it off so quickly, even if he could have given it more thought, he would not have been able. All he knew before putting his head completely back in the fight was that he wanted to that expression again, so he slammed 25 against the wall of the cell before the other man could regain his footing.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't slice you into little pieces and feed you the fish in that lake?"

25 growled, trying to push Zoro away from him, his face growing panicked when he realized his strength was not enough to repel the swordsman. The panic melted from his face as he glanced at Lithium.

"Because you don't want her to hate you."

Zoro faltered for a moment, unnerved at how perceptive this man was. It was a concern, though he had shoved it in the back of his mind the moment he stepped foot in the compound. Lithium's harsh dry chuckle pushed it back where it belonged.

"That may have been the case before, 25, but you've proven you don't care about me, just your own sick fantasies."

Zoro growled past Wado's hilt, pressing the other blades closer to 25's throat. "What did you do to her?"

The cornered man growled right back. "She's mine, Roronoa. She has always been mine. They made her for me, all part of their plan. What are you going to do about it? Tell me she's yours?"

Zoro leveled his gaze at 25. "She belongs to no one but herself."

A voice rang overhead, from the observation deck speakers. "That's where your wrong, Roronoa Zoro."

All three of them looked upward, just in time to see guards take aim at them from the now open observation windows. Between two of them stood a sharp-dressed professional woman, staring down at them with dark amusement before speaking again.

"She belongs to me. But I can make you a deal." She gestured to the guards, who fired down on them.

The flechettes sung through the air. There was no where to run in the round room with guards firing all around it. Lithium ducked under the table, avoiding most of the barrage, but still was hit several times. The men could only hope to keep moving, Zoro repelling a many as he could. Still, the damage was done, the three of them sinking to the floor in near-unison.

The woman chuckled. "Now we can talk. Allow me to introduce myself, Roronoa Zoro. I'm Moira Benson, the head scientist here. In other words, 36's creator."

From under the table, Lithium snarled but otherwise said nothing about this.

"Since this is the case, I can make you a deal as I said. I'm looking into a new set of experiments, since your captain and crew effectively ended my supply of artificial devil fruits."

Zoro rolled his eyes, while surreptitiously testing his limbs. "How sad for you. Get on with it."

Benson chuckled, again a unpleasant sound. "How rude you are. I did not want to here for your manners though. Rather, for your strength. You see, the government wants me to create anti-pirate weapons, but my original plan proved too costly and inefficient. Out of one hundred experiments, only one was a true success."

Zoro was becoming impatient with this woman, but he maintained the illusion that he was incapacitated. He was sore, but functional and relishing the idea of surprising the hell out of the cocky scientist. He did not question why he was fine, considering he saw several familiar faces among the guards. Leave it to his nakama to not only cause a scene but then seamlessly blend into a guard unit.

Benson continued, a lilt of disgusting joy in her voice. "So I came up with the idea of bringing back my one success and breeding her to make a large base of strong children with her unique characteristics. A legion of shape-shifting soldiers!"

She rested her chin on her hands as she peered down at them. "That's where you come in, Roronoa. You've taken a liking to 36 as I understand it. Join my cause, and you can have her, so long as you produce more experiments."

Zoro experienced a type of shock he was unsure he had ever felt before. Glancing over at 25, it was clear the other man was feeling similarly, though for a different reason. He then glanced to Lithium, watching her fists clench and her body tense. Though she was facing away from him, the posture was unmistakable.

This Benson woman was going to regret her words.

25 was the first to speak, his voice shaking with disbelief and brewing rage. "You offered that to me if I brought her back! What the hell!"

Benson laughed shaking her head at him. "Silly little boy, if you weren't so nose-dead, unlike 36, you would know I was just using your pathetic emotional attachment to get what I wanted. She's your half sister, you moron. You share a father."

She rolled her eyes, gesturing to the guard next to her. "Just like him, I'm not going to suffer your foolishness any longer. Shoot him."

The observation deck exploded into motion as Sanji and Chopper sprinted toward the guard, but were just a half-second behind. The guard's aim was still true, even when both cook and doctor hit him, the weapon much heavier than the flachette rifles.

There was no coming back from the massive wound it inflicted.

The table Lithium was under exploded as she burst into motion, disappearing from sight. She reappeared up the wall of the cell, Benson's lapels in her fists, perched lightly on the edge of window. She growled in the woman's face, all fangs bared as her beloved nakama took out the guards around them. Only her ear flicking in his direction indicated she heard Zoro join the battle on the observation deck.

"How dare you!" Lithium tackled Benson to the title beneath them, pinning her to the ground. "You selfish murdering bitch!"

"I did not do anything anyone else would not have with their property, 36."

"We were never your property. Not one of us!" Lithium pulled her arm back, claws at ready.

Despite being at a disadvantage, Benson smirked up at the enraged shape-shifter. "You wouldn't kill your own mother, would you? I even carried you, gave birth to you."

Lithium shuddered, those words sending the most horrible chill skittering up and down her spine. This monster could not be her mother.

"So you see, 36, you are mine. You always have been."

Lithium shuddered harder, her grip slackening on the hideous woman. How could this be? Why the hell would she have chosen to have her the normal way when all her siblings were fully manufactured?

"Lith! Don't listen to her! She's screwing with your head!"

Zoro knocked away another guard not far from her. "You're not hers! You're Lithium! You're whoever YOU want to be!"

Lithium steeled herself at Zoro's words. Whatever had transpired between them, he was here now and believed in her. A wry grin spread across her face.

"I'll admit, Benson, you had me rattled there." She cracked her knuckles, ducking as a guard flew past her, launched by one of Luffy's devastating punches. "But if you really think a calling in a genetic tie means anything considering how disposable all your children were to you, you are sadly mistaken."

Lithium leaned down into the older woman's face. "This is for the ninety-eight who suffered and died at your hands fifteen years ago, for my dad who just wanted me to live, for 25..."

"Wait...36, be reasonable!" Benson's facade of calm broke when she realized every guard that came remotely close was beaten back by Zoro. There was no one to save her now

"I am being reasonable. I'm ending the vile woman who utterly destroys anyone she deems useless."

Lithium leaned in even closer. "And my name is Lithium."

A moment later, the world had one less monster to fear.

Zoro held out a hand to her, not caring that hers were covered in blood. Her stoic expression broke as he pulled her right off her feet to his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Lith..."


	20. Chapter 20

Lithium stood at the end of the dock, staring into the dark water, though her eyes saw to the bottom of the alarmingly clear water. Small, faintly glowing fish danced around the bottom, leaving little trails of light. Her ears flicked backward at the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned her head toward the sound.

Zoro carried 25's body, wrapped in a brightly colored blanket. His face was grim but sympathetic. "Robin found this for him while the others finished gathering the survivors in Franky's cage."

Lithium nodded, touching her brother's body with soft fingers. "I'll have to thank her when we are done."

Zoro shifted his grip, holding the edges of the blanket, handing her the other side. "When you're ready, Lith."

Together they lowered 25 into the lake. The fish scattered as he slipped into the water, sinking with the weight of the rocks Zoro had added on his way over.

Lithium shuddered, the tears that had been stinging her eyes finally falling. Zoro slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. They stood like that for the longest time, the only sound between them Lithium's soft sobs.

Zoro stroked her ear, feeling his own tears welling up the longer he listened to her despair. Gradually though, she went from heart-wrenching tears to little hiccups and she leaned her head into his hand.

"One more thing...and we can go back to the Sunny..." She leaned heavily on him as she rifled through her bag she retrieved earlier. She pulled out a small pouch, and poured its contents into her hand. Tiny slips of paper filtered through her fingers, dissolving on contact with the water.

"What are those, Lith?"

She looked up at him, the moonlight reflecting in her eyes. "Names. Names for all of them, so they don't have to be numbers anymore."

Zoro smiled softly, turning her to face him. "I'm sure they appreciate that."

She closed her eyes, leaning her face into his chest, breathing in his scent. "I'm...I'm so glad it's over...they can all rest now..."

Zoro wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair, careful not to touch her sore scalp too hard. "I'm sorry it went like this. I should have been with you...I should have been able to stop them before they took you..."

Lithium shook her head. "It's okay...I was the one who ran..."

He slid his hand around to her face and tipped it up to meet his eyes. "It's never okay when you are hurt, especially by me..."

Lithium's face colored deep red but she said nothing.

"I'm stupid with words when it comes to you." His thumb traced her jaw. "I said all the wrong things when what I meant to say to the stupid curlybrow was that I can't imagine why such an amazing woman is with an idiot like me."

She opened her mouth to protest his assessment of himself, but he silenced her with a quick kiss, still hovering close to her lips when he broke it.

"I wanted to tell you I love you, Lithium."

Lithium hopped a little, pulling his face to hers and kissing him hard. "I love you too, Zoro...I really do..."

"Well that's good to hear, considering what Robin just told me." Luffy voice rang out from behind them, his tone excited.

Zoro and Lithium turned to him in unison, matching expressions of surprise and annoyance on their faces. Luffy kept talking, oblivious to what he just interrupted.

"She told me that because I said you two were married, technically you were the whole time. I guess it's a captain thing." Luffy grinned broadly, walking closer to them. "Though if you guys want an actual wedding thing, Robin said I can do that too."

Zoro and Lithium's expressions did not change until they faced each other. Zoro smiled a little. "It won't change much, but it's up to you."

Lithium tilted her head as she thought about it. "How about a little one, partially so there's no more confusion."

Zoro nodded, his smile turning a little wry. "Yeah, we've had enough of that for a while. So...when do you want to do it?"

Luffy made a perplexed face. "Why not now?"

Zoro looked at his captain like he grew two more heads and was currently braiding his three stretchy necks together. "You do remember where you are, idiot? And we just had a funeral!"

"Why would that matter?"

Lithium chuckled, shaking her head. "Actually, I would like that. My siblings can be present...at least in spirit."

"As long as your sure." Zoro sighed. She didn't side with the captain often, but when she did, there was no arguing he could do.

Luffy's grin became inhumanly broad. "Oi! They said yes!"

The rest of their nakama burst from the brush, carrying various items in their arms. Nami and Robin whisked Lithium back down the dock, while Usopp went straight to work on Zoro.

"We will be back with the bride in a moment!"

Zoro heard Lithium laughing as they half-dragged her to the bushes. "So how long did you guys have this planned?"

Robin's chuckled could be heard just under Nami's answer. "Well, I did buy the dress for you after you said you never had one, but we're kinda' just winging the rest."

The last thing he heard, as Usopp made him sit down so he could tame his hair again was Lithium laughing after saying "You guys wing about as well as most birds!"

Zoro was ready ten minutes before Lithium and was pacing the length of the dock. Luffy was laughing at him the whole time, until Nami and Robin called for silence as they walked back down the dock as hastily-made but no less beautiful bridesmaids. Franky followed shortly after, walking a blushing Lithium, in asymmetrical body-hugging lilac dress, down the dock.

Sanji reached over and closed Zoro's slack jaw, then patted him on the shoulder. "You're a damn lucky fool, Marimo."

While bride and groom were aware of the ceremony, they spent most of the ten minutes staring at each other. If forced to be honest, they were undressing the other wih their eyes as they answered their parts Luffy's less than conventional variation of the marriage ceremony.

Not everyone had the promise to share all the meat and booze they had as one of their vows.

At the end of it, they had only made it half way back to shore before Zoro scooped her up and ran for the Sunny at top speed, grinning like a fool. The fireflies that were dancing about the lake streaked away as he barreled through the brush. A few small night creatures even bolted in panic at his approach.

The crew had been kind enough to camp on the island as before with the attempted date night. Lithium thought that was wise since she could not attest to how she was going to be considering that one little awkward moment they had involved growling. Actually going past surprise making out might rattle the windows.

Zoro busted in their bedroom door, closing it behind them even though they were alone on the ship. He tossed her on the bed, only to find himself following her down as she pulled him toward her by his tie, the same one he had worn before.

She smiled, a mostly innocent look aside from the slightly upward tilt of her lips at one corner that belied a smirk. "Shall we do this right this time?"

He smirked down at her, his dimples adding a cute edge to an otherwise amused expression. "Weren't you the one who said we actually did do it right the first time?"

She giggled, tilting her head in a purposely cute fashion. "I just meant I won't be running in a panic this time..."

"Oh hell no, you aren't going anywhere, Mrs. Roronoa!"

He pressed her down to the mattress with his body, just like before, stroking those feather-soft ears. She blushed a dark red but her smile was genuine.

"I love the sound of that."

Zoro kissed her nose, smiling when it wrinkled in the cutest way. "Good, because I rather liked giving you my name to add to your beautiful one."

She turned a couple shades darker red as she threaded her fingers through his hair, bring his face to hers. The moment their lips touched, it was right back to where they were before, their tongues entwining insistently and this time without hesitation.

Zoro slid his hands down her neck, over her shoulders and down her sides. He stopped at her hips, breaking the kiss as he tugged a little at the hem of her dress, a silent request for permission to pull it upward.

Lithium nodded, though her face was burning with her ever-deepening blush. She let him pull her up to sitting and raised her arms as he impatiently tugged the dress off her.

Zoro's breath caught in his chest at the sight of her. The little glimpses from before did not do her justice. He was suddenly feeling his own inexperience, something he had yet to admit to her. His eyes kept sweeping over her, in disbelief of the dramatic curves she possessed. He was awestruck, to say the least.

He gulped, his eyes continually landing on her impressive breasts, nearly panicking as they moved closer to him when she grabbed the front of his shirt, tossing his tie away and making short work of his shirt buttons. And by short work, she actually ripped it off of him out of frustration when her shaking hands would not cooperate, the buttons flying about the room. Zoro laughed outright, undoing his belt so she did not have to worry about that and let his pants fall.

Lithium learned that moment that her husband did not bother with boxers.

Her blushed reached a new level of scarlet as she let her eyes roam freely over him. "Saints preserve me in alcohol..."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Lith."

"It is...believe me...it is..." She looked back up at his eyes, face softly earnest. "One I wanted to give you for a while..."

His smile was the softest she had seen. "You so damn cute, it's unfair."

He pulled her back to her feet and swung her around, sitting where she had been on the bed. He pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his face into her shoulder. She let her arms rest around his neck as she felt him running his fingers through the fur on her back. She had always felt self-conscious about that fur since it was one of the things that set her most apart from normal humans, but he seemed to be enjoying the feel of it.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when his hands found her butt, giving it a firm, appreciative squeeze. "Ah! That's my butt!"

Zoro chuckled, squeezing it again. "Damn right it is. and I love it."

He slid his hands up her sides, slow and deliberate. "Only touching you when we sparred was torture, you know."

Zoro slowly cupped his hands around her breasts, simply holding them as he leaned back to look at her face, rather enjoying the dark blush painting it as she nodded in agreement. "I just didn't know what to say. It all sounded weird to me."

"It doesn't matter now, love." Lithium caught his lips with hers, effectively silencing him.

Zoro smiled against her lips, giving her breasts a small, experimental squeeze. He was beginning to work off of instinct, her skin so soft his hands he could not help himself. Her soft whimper was all the encouragement he needed, as he pulled away from her lips, to trail kisses down her neck, pausing only when she shivered.

Lithium let her head fall to side, allowing him more access to her neck. It felt strange at first, exposing such a vulnerable part of her to someone, but the intense need stirring in her derailed her usual caution. It was not like it was the only part of her that was exposed either.

And this was Zoro. She trusted him completely practically from the moment they met.

She yelped when Zoro's thumbs slid over her nipples. She had not expected them to be that sensitive. She did not expect Zoro to pull his hands away in alarm either.

"Oh god, did I hurt you?" His face was innocently horrified, his hands hover several inches away form her.

Lithium bit her lip, trying not to laugh, but it came out in her words. " No, no, I'm more than okay...it just surprised me...why would you think that?"

Zoro rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks turning a surprising shade of red. "Well...you sounded like it...and it's not like I've done this before..."

She smiled softly, taking his hands and putting them back where they were. "So we are both learning then. How about I tell you if it's a problem?"

While he was embarrassed he had not thought of that himself, he was more happy to have hands back on her. "Don't hesitate then. The last thing I want to do is hurt you."

"I promise, don't worry." Lithium set her arms back on his shoulders, running her fingers the shell of one of his ears, his earrings making a faint ringing sound.

Zoro resumed his attentions, kissing his way down her neck again and across her collar bone. She shivered as before, another soft sound escaping her, but no words. He quit over-thinking and let instinct take over once more. Her gasps and whimpers were far better than his nervous thoughts anyway. He would hate to miss them, especially as they grew louder the farther down his lips traveled.

His lips found her breasts to be impossibly soft and smooth. She was soft to begin with, but this was more than his need-clouded brain could handle. With an appreciative growl, he ran his tongue over it, impatient to reach the rosy nipple his thumb was still busy teasing but not wanting to rush things too much.

While he was raring to go as evidenced by what was currently poking her thigh, she needed to be ready for him. Right?

He looked up at her, pausing until he had her gaze and teased that nipple with a flick of his tongue, capturing it the moment her breath hitched. He figured he was doing it right when she grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face closer. He stopped only to lavish the other with the same attention as his other hand ran down her side and across her stomach, tracing down the scar she had from a past surgery.

Lithium bit her lip, trying to stifle the whimpers that were only growing louder, but as his calloused fingers followed her scar downward, she knew she was fighting a losing battle. She shifted her body to make it easier to find was his fingers were searching for and despite a little fumbling, her knees nearly gave out when he did.

Her moan resolved into a heated growl. He paused at the sound until she pressed herself toward his hand, her needy mewl making it clear he better not stop. He smirked past the pale skin of her breast and resumed without hesitation.

Zoro felt her knees wobble the more he played with that little bundle of nerves. She already was gripping his arms for dear life, not even noticing the red welts her claws made on his skin. Right before her legs gave out completely, he wrapped his free arm around her waist.

"Can't take much more of that and stand, can you?"

All she managed was a small whimper in response at first, clearly struggling to form words. Some of it was sensory overload, the other part unsure if she could handle anything more at all. This was just foreplay and she was already about to fall apart at the seams. How long would she last when he was actually inside her?

"Ah...I just..."

"Yeah?"

"I want you...right now..." Her face was blazing every shade of red imaginable by the feel of it. "No more...other stuff...please..."

Zoro was not going to deny her what she wanted in the first place, but that soft little please about did him in. He withdrew his hand and stood, lifting her off her feet, smiling as she wrapped her arms and legs aroud him on instinct. He gave her a quick kiss as he resettled them back on the bed, his back against the headboard.

Lithium squirmed as he held her just above his clearly excited member, feeling it twitch against her folds. It took a bit of fumbling for him to line himself up, but her mind was too consumed with the sudden thought that she was not sure how he was going to actually fit to notice anything but the little thrills the contact was causing.

Zoro felt his face flush at his struggle, but the concern fled his mind as he lowered her slowly onto him. The urge thrust in all the way and not stop doing so until she was a screaming mess was nearly overwhelming, but he has not trained both body and mind for years without honing his self-control. He would take this slowly for her sake.

Or so he thought.

Lithium pressed him the rest of the way into her with one swift downward motion, leaving both of them gasping and clinging to each other at the shock. She forced words out between pants. "I...couldn't...take it...any...longer...too...slow..."

Zoro felt the growl rise up from the depths of him, and there were no more words between them. He caught her lips in a bruising kiss as began thrusting into her, relishing her cries. She was meeting this movements, growling as much as he was, sending him into a near-frenzy.

He flipped her on back without leaving her, his rhythm erratic. Her arms pulled him in close and winced at the stabs of pain as her claws raked his skin. Scars on the back may be a swordsman's shame, but he was going to damn proud of these later.

He growled louder as he neared climax, desperately pounding into her, feeling great need for Lithium to come with him. She had lost the ability to keep up with him and was clinging to him as she cried out with each thrust.

Seconds before he could hold back no longer, she brought her lips to his shoulder and bit down hard. Zoro lost it and returned the bite, releasing into her with what felt like all the strength he had.

Lithium felt herself breaking the most exquisite way shortly after Zoro came. Her mouth fell away from his marked shoulder as she screamed his name. He let go of her shoulder and smothered her cry with increasingly gentle kisses until they both relaxed. He slowly slipped himself from her and lowered himself to the bed next to her, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. She leaned her head on his, the only part of her body willing to move at that moment.

They stayed like that a long time before either of them spoke. Zoro found his voice first, though a chuckled proceeded it.

"Well...we answered that question...you do like it rough..."

Lithium turned so she could see him out of the corner of her eye, a cheeky grin on her face. "How could I not? You use that man-dongle of yours so well. "

They both burst into laughter until their sides ached. They would settle down for a little while until they looked at each other and start into another laughing fit. Eventually Lithium laughed herself to sleep, curled against his chest.

Zoro pulled the blankets over the both of them and settled in to sleep as well. He closed his eye, pressing one last kiss on the top of her head. He was never so glad he sat his ass on the wrong damn bench.

-The End-

* * *

 _Thank you so much for reading my story. This is the first fanfiction I have ever completed and I feel incredibly proud of that achievement. You have all made this little journey a great joy._

 _While this part of the story is over, you can find Zoro and Lithium goodness at litihiumsketchbook . tumblr. com or at my roleplay blog, thelithiumprojectlm . tumbler. com (obviously without the spaces)._

 _Have a happy 2016!_


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